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56
Expectant mothers examined for the first time numbered 166
against 199 last year. Of these 76.5 percent. were seen during
the first six months of pregnancy. Those attending at later
stages of their confinements included some with pain or discomfort;
others, who had but recently arrived in the Borough, had
been unable to arrange for prior treatment.
As a result of improved supervision during the pre¬natal
period, the amount of work for nursing mothers has shown a steady
decline during recent years, and has therefore ceased to present
any special problem. Of those seen, some such cases resulted
from late reference from the Ante¬Natal Department, which did
not permit of treatment until after the confinement; otherwise
names were received during the post¬natal stage.
22 nursing mothers were examined or re¬treated during the
current year, compared with 27 in 1962.
Treatment
Including those continuing treatment from the previous year,
223 mothers were dealt with, against 274 in 1962. A welcome sign
during recent years has been a decrease in the need for wholesale
removal of teeth and the large scale provision of dentures.
The current generation of expectant mothers also shows an increased
awareness of the need for retaining their natural teeth.
Certain of those attending volunteer the information that they
have visited the same clinic during their school days and have
obviously benefited from treatment during this period.
The Pre¬School Child
The number of children referred from all sources during the
year was 384, compared with 394 in 1962. As previously, this
figure included a proportion of "toddlers" due for re¬inspection
and treatment.
As in the case of the school population, the rise in sugar
consumption of post war years has also been responsible for an
appreciable increase in decay in the mouths ot the "under fives;
earlier supervision of these youngsters is therefore becoming of
prior importance. Though cases of deliberate neglect are rare,
the growth in part-time employment of mothers has tended to reduce
the proportion of the younger children attending for
routine "check¬up" at Dental Clinics, and there is some evidence
to suggest that this routine survey is not, in certain cases,
obtained elsewhere.
The usual tables are given in the Appendix, page 128.