School dental service
The high incidence of dental disease continued to give cause for concern (73.5 per
cent. of children inspected) and—in Table (iii)—the further decline in ratio of permanent
teeth restored to extracted is regrettable.
Table: Table (ii)
Table (ii)
1956
1957
1958
Number of inspection sessions held at schools
2,111
1,354
1,952
Number of children inspected at schools by dental officers
213,957
120,440
196,573
Number found to require treatment
163,414
91,868
144,050
Percentage requiring treatment
76.4%
76.3%
73.5%
Additional number inspected at centres
44,078
56,598
36,067
Total number found to require treatment ..
207,492
148,466
180,117
Total cases treated
115,587
102,568
97,300
Attendances
332,785
308,862
298,342
Ordinary treatment sessions
31,257
31,841
31,322
General anaesthetic sessions
1,708
1,594
1,431
Temporary teeth extracted
83,341
69,247
58,223
Permanent teeth extracted
19,992
18,273
19,342
Temporary teeth restored by fillings
43,474
45,509
40,994
Permanent teeth restored by fillings
129,931
117,148
122,558
Fillings in temporary teeth
46,088
48,477
43,176
Fillings in permanent teeth
144,746
131,071
136,811
Other operations:—
temporary teeth
58,808
58,021
54,884
permanent teeth
68,972
64,675
64,995
Local anaesthetics for extraction
16,195
14,404
13,320
Local anaesthetics for conservative treatment
9,494
10,718
13,964
General anaesthetics
38,740
34,019
30,861
Cases for whom immediate treatment was completed
11,614
10,415
10,566
Cases discharged as dentally fit
79,994
71,260
66,990
Table: Table (iii)—Ratio of permanent teeth restored to permanent teeth extractedin school children
Table (iii)—Ratio of permanent teeth restored to permanent teeth extractedin school children
Orthodontics
Arrangements made in 1957 for hospital authorities to increase assistance with
orthodontic problems met with a measure of success in 1958. The principal additional
measure of assistance was afforded by the Eastman Dental hospital taking over and
staffing two Council surgeries in the Province of Natal centre. In one of these surgeries
orthodontic treatment and in the other allied treatment of a more routine nature is
undertaken. This enables a restricted number of patients to receive thorough treatment
of an advanced nature—including revisional treatment. Some recovery in orthodontic
numbers is to be noted in Table (iv).
117