London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1964
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
Under the London Government Act, 1963 responsibility for the school dental service
will pass to the Inner London Education Authority on 1 April 1965. Full information on
this new method of screening the school population for dental treatment purposes was
passed to this new authority, in anticipation that the method will come into use generally
throughout the Inner London area. The I.L.E.A. expressed the intention to implement
the method as from 1 April 1965.
T able (iv)— School dental service: Orthodontic work
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of special orthodontic sessions | 237 | 254 | 422 | 422 | 411 |
| Number accepted at special orthodontic sessions | 152 | 171 | 275 | 257 | 282 |
| Number accepted at routine sessions | 401 | 470 | 227 | 251 | 232 |
| Number referred to hospitals | 154 | 154 | 237 | 186 | 202 |
| Total number of patients accepted or referred | 707 | 795 | 739 | 694 | 716 |
In the special field of orthodontics there was little change in results. The gross malocclusions
which were relatively common in the earlier years of the school dental service
are now seldom seen and, with a slower flow of patients through the surgeries, dental officers
have now an opportunity to treat at least some of the more simple cases that still appear.
I would like once again to acknowledge the excellent assistance given in the production of
appliances by the staff of the Central Dental Laboratory.
Maternity and child welfare dental service
As in the case of schoolchildren, the drift towards the use of facilities available in the
national dental services continued. Expectant and nursing mothers (like their children)
are not charged for their treatment by general dental practitioners and, in the main, seem
to prefer private arrangements for their treatment. Table (v) shows numerical fluctuations
in the Council's dental service in 1964, when the principle agreed with the Ministry of
Health some years ago continued to be applied, viz.: that approximately 10 per cent, of the
Council's dental efforts should be specifically directed to the dental service for maternity
and child welfare patients.
T able (v)—Maternity and child welfare patients: Attendances and treatments
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of sessions | 2,592 | 2,300 | 1,908 | 1,838 | 1,739 |
| Number of appointments offered | 27,368 | 23,864 | 19,158 | 17,728 | 15,411 |
| Attendances—by appointment | 19,651 | 16,500 | 12,958 | 11,893 | 10,437 |
| —other | 1,060 | 894 | 553 | 422 | 322 |
| Silver nitrate treatment | 5,858 | 5,718 | 4,141 | 4,206 | 2,588 |
| Fillings | 8,716 | 7,399 | 5,976 | 5,411 | 5,449 |
| Extractions | 4,513 | 3,624 | 2,619 | 1,588 | 1,301 |
| Dentures supplied—new full | 351 | 327 | 151 | 91 | 89 |
| —new partial | 468 | 485 | 240 | 231 | 134 |
| Number made dentally fit | 4,165 | 3,255 | 2,507 | 2,234 | 2,185 |
T able (vi)— Breakdown of table (v) separating nursing or expectant mothers from children
under five—1964
| Total | Nursing or expectant mothers | Children (under 5) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of sessions | 1,739 | — | — |
| Number of appointments | 15,411 | 7,814 | 7,597 |
| Attendances—by appointment | 10,437 | 5,069 | 5,368 |
| —other | 322 | 103 | 219 |
| Silver nitrate treatment | 2,588 | 337 | 2,251 |
| Fillings | 5,449 | 2,682 | 2,767 |
| Extractions | 1,301 | 863 | 438 |
| Dentures supplied—new full | 89 | 89 | — |
| —new partial | 134 | 134 | — |
| Number made dentally fit | 2,185 | 665 | 1,520 |