London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

London County Council 1958

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

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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)

195619571958
Number of inspection sessions held at schools2,1111,3541,952
Number of children inspected at schools by dental officers213,957120,440196,573
Number found to require treatment163,41491,868144,050
Percentage requiring treatment76.4%76.3%73.5%
Additional number inspected at centres44,07856,59836,067
Total number found to require treatment ..207,492148,466180,117
Total cases treated115,587102,56897,300
Attendances332,785308,862298,342
Ordinary treatment sessions31,25731,84131,322
General anaesthetic sessions1,7081,5941,431
Temporary teeth extracted83,34169,24758,223
Permanent teeth extracted19,99218,27319,342
Temporary teeth restored by fillings43,47445,50940,994
Permanent teeth restored by fillings129,931117,148122,558
Fillings in temporary teeth46,08848,47743,176
Fillings in permanent teeth144,746131,071136,811
Other operations:—
temporary teeth58,80858,02154,884
permanent teeth68,97264,67564,995
Local anaesthetics for extraction16,19514,40413,320
Local anaesthetics for conservative treatment9,49410,71813,964
General anaesthetics38,74034,01930,861
Cases for whom immediate treatment was completed11,61410,41510,566
Cases discharged as dentally fit79,99471,26066,990

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

19493.72 to 1
19503.29 to 1
19513.43 to 1
19523.86 to 1
19534.69 to 1
19545.32 to 1
19557.39 to 1
19566.50 to 1
19576.41 to 1
19586.34 to 1

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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).
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