View report page

157
Existing staff is quite inadequate to deal with the school
population of over 27,000 and other Maternity and Child Welfare
commitments. In terms of establishment this represents over 5,000
children to one dental officer, and makes it impossible to carry
out the annual inspection recommended by the Ministry.
Recent statistics show that the time lapse between successive
treatments is now in the neighbourhood of 16-18 months, and
unless additional assistance is forthcoming, this period is likely
to become progressively longer.
As mentioned later in this Report delay in revisiting schools
has produced a substantial increase in the number of those applying
for emergency treatment. Whilst such applications are
unfortunately unavoidable, the time required to deal with these
cases is considerable, and thus the carrying out of routine treatment
is further retarded. As a result of the above position, over
9,000 children on the school register received no inspection during
the current year. Hearing in mind the fact that local services are
now serving the needs of approximately 80% of the juvenile
population of the Borough, further diminution in staff may well
be productive of disastrous results.
The suggestion that in the event of a breakdown of the School
Dental Scheme, alternative treatment could be obtained through
the General Practitioner Service has little foundation in fact, and
it is probable that in practice such an arrangement would mean
attention for only a small minority. Private dentists are in the
main fully occupied in coping with the demands of the adult
section of the community, and have neither the time nor the
facilities to deal with children in any appreciable numbers. In
view of the fact that the present entry into the dental profession
is only one third of the number actually required for the nation
as a whole, the position is unlikely to alter for a considerable
number of years.
An aspect of the problem not fully appreciated is that
"Children's Dentistry," involving as it does the care of the very
young, has today become a highly specialised occupation, calling
for the employment of specially selected staff. When applied to
the masses the carrying out of such work involves many technical
and social problems which can be most satisfactorily handled at a
national level.
From a "preventative" standpoint the existing arrangements
for linking treatment with Local Authority Education
Schemes represents the most practical method of bringing
dentistry to the individual child.
127