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58
follow. Appointments were well kept, and there would appear
to be a greater appreciation of the importance of preserving the
natural dentition.
As in the previous year there has also been a noticeable
decrease in the need for wholesale removal of teeth and though it is
unlikely that this represents a universal picture, it seems probable
that a great many previously suffering from chronic oral sepsis
have already received attention through the General Practitioners'
Service and thus do not come the way of the Clinic.
The Pre-School Child.
The number of children referred from all sources during the
year was 671, compared with 862 in 1951. Though this decrease
is to a certain extent the result of the falling birth rate, an additional
factor has been the progressive reduction in the number
of Day Nurseries previously operating in the Borough. The
presence of these institutions has provided a most useful field
of supervision for children no longer attending Welfare Centres.
In this respect it is hoped that the inauguration of further nursery
classes at certain Primary Schools will help to make some redress
until the programme for Nursery Schools can be put into effect.
Though contacts obtained through the Welfare Centres themselves
have in the past been disappointing, it is felt that increased
publicity on the part of Health Visitors and voluntary workers
would pay a worth while dividend by encouraging parents to
seek earlier advice and treatment.
As stated previously, the major problem in this branch of
dentistry is to gain access to these children during the critical
three to four year period when systematic inspection should be
commenced. In practice it is found that even "enlightened"
parents are too prone to be guided by their own visual observations,
with the inevitable result that many cavities are found to
be beyond repair when' eventually brought to notice. The condition
of many mouths at the first school inspection is a constant
reminder of the fact that until a far greater degree of supervision
can be exercised during the pre-school period, there can be no
satisfactory solution to the problem of safeguarding the foundation
teeth.