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113
DENTAL REPORT.
All the patients admitted to the Sanatorium were dentally
inspected. Those in the acute wards were treated only when in
pain, but patients in the ordinary wards were referred for all
necessary treatment. Only those in the acute stages of tuberculosis
were treated in the wards; the other patients attended the
dental surgery in the Sanatorium. Patients were treated only if,
in the opinion of the Resident Medical Superintendent, they were
sufficiently fit.
The question of treatment of tuberculous patients is one of
great magnitude. Many patients exhibit gross sepsis in and
around their teeth, and the treatment for such cases is the extraction
of the offending teeth, and the insertion of dentures, if the
prognosis of the case is good. It is useless, of course, to do
extensive treatment for the advanced cases; all that can be done
in such cases is to remove painful teeth. There are, however,
cases in which sepsis is localised to several teeth only, and if they
are removed the desirability or otherwise of fitting prosthetic
appliances arises. Provided there is a reasonable number of
occlusion points, and that most of the anterior teeth are present,
there is no object in fitting dentures. Many people are able to
masticate their food quite well with only a few occluding molar
teeth present, and do not suffer any digestive trouble, whilst
others may show evidence of digestive disturbance, and the
problem of whether or not to fit dentures depends upon the
medical report of the case. There is no need to emphasize that
The wholesale extraction of teeth for the tuberculous patient is to
be condemned, and that dentures should be inserted only when
the aesthetic or masticatory effects are jeopardised.
People may tolerate sepsis in their mouth for years, but if
there is a profound disturbance in the general health, such as Tuberculosis,
there is a danger of an overload of infection developing,
which may cause pyrexia and general debility.
The dental treatment for tuberculous patients differs from that
Prescribed for ordinary patients. For instance, it is inadvisable
to indulge in protracted treatments at one sitting, inasmuch as
these People are definitely ill and their powers of endurance considerably
reduced; moreover, the fatigue caused by long treatments
may aggravate the patient's condition.
The use of general anaesthetics in many cases is contraindeated,
not because there is a greater risk that the patient might