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272
It is not possible for the present staff of three whole-time
dental surgeons to inspect annually and treat all children requiring
treatment, in the Public Elementary Schools, and these may be
enumerated as follows:—
Each dental surgeon has allocated to his care nearly 9,000
children, which is three times the number one dental surgeon can
inspect and treat efficiently each year.
The size of the staff required to inspect annually every child,
and to treat those children referred with dental defects, may be
based on material supplied in previous Reports. Assuming that
all the 26,424 children attending the elementary schools were
examined, 72 per cent, of this total, or approximately 19,000,
would be referred for treatment, and the parents of about 60 per
cent, of these children, or approximately 11,400, would consent to
clinic treatment. Each dental surgeon treats annually approximately
2,400 children, and it is therefore apparent that a staff of
at least five dental surgeons is necessary to oope adequately with
the work.
The dental surgeons' time has been reorganised so that every
available session can be devoted to conservative dentistry, and the
results for the year show that there has been considerable improvement
in this direction, but this does little towards making up the
deficiency.
There has been a decided increase in the number of children
referred for treatment during the last fewyears. In 1927,61 percent,
of the children inspected were referred with defective teeth, and in
1934 the number had increased to 72 per cent. This increase
alone means that over 2,000 more children required treatment in
1934 than in 1927, and would provide sufficient work for one
dental surgeon for one year.
There is also an increased demand for dental treatment on
the part of parents. This is proved by the considerable increase
of conservative work during the last few years.
The fact that a larger number of children of indigent parents
have been treated free, or at half the usual attendance fee, has
resulted in more of these children having treatment, especially of
a conservative nature. As a matter of interest, it may be mentoined
that the amount of work to be done for children in this category
is often considerably more than is required for the children of
more prosperous parents. The teeth of these children undoubtedly
show a marked tendency to dental disease.