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 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Table (iii)—Ratio of permanent teeth restored to permanent teeth extracted in schoolchildren
| 1950 | 3.29 to 1 |
| 1951 | 3.43 to 1 |
| 1952 | 3.86 to 1 |
| 1953 | 4.69 to 1 |
| 1954 | 5.32 to 1 |
| 1955 | 7.39 to 1 |
| 1956 | 6.50 to 1 |
| 1957 | 6 41 to 1 |
| 1958 | 6.34 to 1 |
| 1959 | 7.41 to 1 |
Orthodontics
Table (iv) shows a slight increase in the number of patients received at all treatment sources but many patients had still to go by default. Many patients continued to be treated at our own routine clinic sessions but the time so spent interferes seriously with other work. I would register appreciation of the help given by the Eastman Dental, King's College, University College and St. Alfege's hospitals. Table (iv)
| 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of special orthodontic sessions | 185 | 290 | 321 | 282 | 229 |
| Number accepted at special orthodontic sessions | 195 | 252 | 108 | 199 | 138 |
| Number accepted at routine sessions | 432 | 427 | 403 | 474 | 371 |
| Number referred to hospitals | 59 | 182 | 158 | 186 | 279 |
| Total number of patients accepted or referred | 686 | 861 | 669 | 859 | 788 |
Maternity and child welfare dental service
This section of the dental work (the 'priority service' (Part III) of the National Health
Service) continued for another year to be exceedingly meagre. The equivalent of only six
full-time officers was utilised. No ' inspections' by dental officers were held at maternity
welfare centres and only the requests by a relatively small number of mothers for attention
were met.
As with the schoolchildren, it is believed that a number of patients receive attention
elsewhere but with the paucity of dental staff it was deemed inadvisable, during the year,
to attempt to develop this branch of the dental service.
Table (v)—Attendances and treatments of maternity and child welfare patients
| 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of sessions | 3,220 | 3,169 | 3,293 | 3,135 | 2,764 |
| Number of appointments offered | 35,854 | 36,711 | 36,636 | 34,740 | 30,456 |
| Attendances—by appointment | 26,430 | 27,640 | 26,006 | 24,691 | 21,995 |
| —other | 1,526 | 1,799 | 1,717 | 1,539 | 1,122 |
| Silver nitrate treatment | 5,058 | 4,716 | 5,423 | 5,065 | 4,415 |
| Fillings | 13,212 | 13,465 | 11,310 | 11,491 | 10,031 |
| Extractions | 9,177 | 9,561 | 7,809 | 5,873 | 5,114 |
| Dentures supplied—new full | 572 | 538 | 508 | 422 | 380 |
| —new partial | 686 | 778 | 820 | 685 | 649 |
| Number made dentally fit | 7,117 | 7,492 | 6,010 | 5,014 | 4,784 |
Dental service in boarding schools and residential establishments
Recruitment of visiting (local) dental surgeons continued to prove disappointing and in
some instances full-time school dental officers had to be deployed from their routine work
to supply visits to outlying establishments—an increased drain on an already attenuated
school service, but resulting in more satisfactory services in some residential establishments.
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