View report page

174
Nursing Mothers.

The higher percentage of nursing mothers seen soon after
the babies were born were referred during the expectant period,
but owing to congestion of cases were not called up earlier for
treatment. Those women who delayed seeking advice till late in
the nursing period have been treated for the removal of septic
teeth only. Most of them, however, were emergency cases, and
treatment was for the relief of pain.
Many mothers tolerate sepsis in their mouths for years, but
with the added strain of pregnancy there is a danger of a breakdown
of resistance which may cause pyrexia, and it is, therefore,
desirable that all pregnant women should be dentally examined
and treated as early as possible.
The Pre-School Child.
The number of toddlers examined and treated shows a slight
reduction. The extraction of teeth for these children is less in
number than in the previous year, as is also the number of
fillings.
It is unfortunate that while so much of dental disease may
be prevented by proper prophylactic methods, mothers, as a
whole, still appear to take little interest in the dental condition of
their children until toothache occurs.
It would appear that further education and time must be
expended before the teeth of the pre-school children will show any
marked improvement. Many are given food of the type that
"breeds" caries, and frequently mouth sanitation is not considered
worth while, so it is hardly to be wondered at that the
dental officers often see varying stages of dental disease in children
of two years old and sometimes younger.