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NUMBER OF TREATMENT SESSIONS
If the foregoing indications of improved dental health in schools and of a better type of
treatment in our service are maintained it may be possible to introduce at an early date
some measure of revisional treatment for the children who are entrusted by their parents
to the care of our dental surgeons. Without such revisional treatment much of the work
done must fail in its purpose of tooth retention.
While the number of sessions devoted to dental inspections in schools was increased to
the highest post-war level, such inspections were still geared to treatment facilities available
rather than to a desirable regular and frequent check of the mouths of all schoolchildren.
The decline in number of full-time dental officers recorded in preceding years continued
in 1959 and recruitment of part-time staff also fell. Table (i) shows an over-all loss of 82/11
in the year in the school health service and in maternity and child welfare service—
a total service loss of 93 sessions per week. This deterioration in service is serious and, if
the trend is not checked—if more dental operators do not come forward—it should be
hoped that more parents will increase their efforts to obtain systematic dental care for their
children elsewhere. The Council's service with the staff available during the year was quite
inadequate to cope efficiently and properly with the need for dental conservation in the
schools. For still another year we were, perforce, restricted to meeting only demand.
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