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"With regard to 6,938 fillings inserted in permanent teeth,
this number is found to be considerably greater than in any previous
year. The majority of these fillings were done for children of
eight years of age and upwards. The temporary teeth, as has
already been stated, were in a bad condition, but 706 temporary
fillings were applied to certain teeth of the early dentition.
"The number of extractions in the permanent set was 1,814.
Of these, 393 were removed for the regulation of other teeth. In
56 cases of protrusion or retrusion of the jaws advice was given to
seek special treatment at the Dental Hospitals in London. The
temporary teeth extracted totalled 12,205, a very large figure,
but there is one consolation, and that is that these children now
have healthy mouths to go on with. Local anaesthesia was
administered on 4,600 occasions and general anaesthesia on 1,020
occasions for a total of 14,019 teeth extracted.
"Dressings of silver nitrate to the temporary teeth, and applications
to gums, where stomatitis or gingivitis was present, amounted
to 343. Scaling of the teeth was done for 81 children.
"The increase in the number of children inspected, and
therefore an increase in those who required treatment, at the new
schools in the Greenford Ward, urgently called for the additional
dental sessions at the new Ravenor Park Health Centre ; in fact
there were arrears of approximately 800 cases for treatment at
the end of the year, and with the opening of the other large schools
in this area in the near future it will be found necessary to have a
third school dentist to complete the inspections and treatment
in each year.
"Altogether 10,224 children were inspected and of these,
8,124 required treatment. Those actually treated numbered
4,841, and out of this number 779 returned for further treatment,
making a total of 5,620 visits for dental treatment at all the Centres.
The increase in the number of children treated is very satisfactory,
being almost double of that number treated in the previous year,
and with the continued propaganda amongst and pressure on
those parents who are inclined to refuse treatment, we hope in
three years' time, to have nearly every school child receiving
dental treatment, and to see most of them leaving school with
perfectly sound mouths.