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DENTAL SERVICES
The shortage of dental officers continued during the year, and we have only three
part-time officers carrying out between them nine sessions per week. Urgent extractions
are carried out as quickly as possible, but we are able to arrange only two gas
sessions per week; even so, some part of these sessions has to be allocated to maternity
and child welfare cases.
One session per week is devoted to inspection only, when children suffering from
toothache are seen by a dental officer and given an early appointment, the remaining six
sessions are devoted to conservative treatment.
The pupils at the Bentry Special School have recently been examined by one of the
dental officers and arrangements are now being made for their treatment. In order to
obviate the difficulty of conveying these children from the school to the Oxlow Lane
Dental Clinic, then back to the school again in small batches, arrangements have been
made to set up a temporary dental surgery at the school whereby the dental officer can
carry out the necessary dental treatment more expeditiously.
A modern portable dental engine has been purchased and the necessary dental
equipment, not now in use at one of the dental surgeries, transferred temporarily to the
school.
I give below the figures for the year:—
Periodic Specials
(a) Number of pupils inspected 206 857
(b) Number found to require treatment 169 848
(c) Number offered treatment 169 848
(d) Number actually treated 19 680
(e) Number awaiting treatment 168 130
(f) Attendances made by pupils for treatment 32 2,210
(g) Half-days devoted by dental officers to:—
(i) Inspection 50
(ii) Treatment 369
(h) Fillings:
(i) Permanent teeth 1,302
(ii) Temporary teeth 264
(i) Number of teeth filled:—
(i) Permanent teeth 1,201
(ii) Temporary teeth 242
(J) Extractions:—
(i) Permanent teeth
(a) on account of caries 408
(b) for other purposes 18
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