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In the second table the percentages of children in the three
medical inspection groups for the year 1925 are compared with
those in previous years. The year 1925 shows some deterioration
in all three groups, though fortunately this is not so great with the
leavers as with the other two groups. This deterioration is difficult
to account for. The amount of dental treatment at the School
Clinic has been maintained at the same level as in previous years
and it can only be surmised that there has been some remissness on
the part of the children in caring for the teeth and on the part of
the parents in supervising them. This view is borne out by the
fact that the entrants themselves have shown deterioration from
previous years.
In January, 1925, the Board of Education in Circular 1347
drew attention to a leaflet prepared by the Dental Board of the
United Kingdom for the guidance of teachers in public elementary
and secondary schools in instructing their pupils as to the need of
taking care of the teeth and as to the way in which this should be
done, and stated that the Dental Board offered to supply copies
of this leaflet for distribution to all teachers. The Education
Committee accepted this offer and issued instructions to the teachers
to make use of these leaflets in instructing the children in the care
of the teeth. Later in the year, July, a circular letter was issued