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48
DENTAL INSPECTION AND TREATMENT.
A complete review of this service was made during the year
because of the increasing amount of work placed upon it. It was
apparent from this survey that the dental service was quite inadequate
to meet current demands and recommendations were
therefore made by the Council to the Middlesex County Council for
the expansion of the service including an increase in the establishment
of dental officers and dental attendants. It was proposed
that eventually the establishment should be doubled by the addition
of three dental officers and a like number of attendants, the
appointment of one additional dental officer and one attendant to
be immediate. A further proposal was made for the setting up of
an orthodontic clinic at one of the existing health centres with
only slight modification of premises and for the employment there
of a part-time orthodontist and whole-time dental attendant to
provide for the treatment of children suffering from maloclusion.
From comparison of statistics over the past ten years it was
apparent that the calls on the service had become more numerous
not only in respect of treatment required by school children but
also in respect of treatment for maternity and child welfare cases.
A potential population of 34,320 persons eligible for treatment
was being undertaken by three dental surgeons and a similar
number of attendants. Consideration was therefore given to the
provision of dental clinics at the proposed new health centres in
the South Ealing area and in the West Twyford area, and this
was visualised when the increase in the establishment was proposed.
It is hoped that some of the proposals made will be put into
operation during the ensuing year.
The inspection and treatment of school children was carried
out during the year and all school children in maintained primary
and secondary schools were inspected. The detailed report of the
Senior dental officer is set out below:—
Dental inspection and treatment was carried out during the
year by three full time dentists. This year was the first since 1939
that the full number of dentists on a full time basis, were employed.
The whole of the work was performed at the five health centres
situated in the various areas of the borough. The dental inspections
were carried out in the schools, and a certain number of specials
were also inspected at the centres.
The actual numbers inspected and treated are as follows, and
will be compared with the figures given for the previous year.
The total number of children inspected was 20,611. The
number for 1946 being 19,823, an increase of 788 over the latter
year.
The number of children found to require treatment totalled