London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Croydon 1969
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
This page requires JavaScript
22
DENTAL SERVICE
Mr. J.D. Palmer, Principal School Dental Officer
What does one want from the Local Authority Dental Service in Croydon
today? In my view it should concern itself with the dental health of the
whole community it serves. The realistic control of dental disease and the
initiation of broad dental health education are most important, whilst the
maintenance and development of good and efficient treatment services is
essential.
Unfortunately the incidence of dental disease remains as high as ever, as evidenced by the total numbers of teeth requiring treatment.
| Year | School Popln. | % referred requiring treatment | % requesting treatment in school dental service | Total teeth treated per child (fills. pr exts.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 29,106 | 46% | 74.4% | 1.9 |
| 1959 | 36,878 | 45.2% | 38.8% | 2.1 |
| 1967 | 46,835 | 41.6% | 28.5% | 2.9 |
| 1968 | 49,020 | 44.2% | 30.0% | 2.7 |
| 1969 | 50,945 | 44.7% | 30.1% | 2.8 |
The favourable treatment facilities provided under the general dental
services locally (for each dentist on the National Health Service executive
list in the Croydon area there are 2,974 persons, whilst the national average
per dentist is 4,219) as well as the efforts of the public dental officers over
the years account for the improvement in the quantity and quality of dental
treatment received.
By working in liaison with the general dental and hospital services
locally, this enables the development of the local authority treatment
services to be complementary to, rather than competitive with, those of
dental practitioners. The extension and provision of those services which
are not well provided for in the community becomes possible; e.g. the
specialised or time consuming techniques for children, mentally and