View report page

Mr. L. C. Mandeville, the Council's Chief Dental Officer, comments as follows:—
The proportion of eligible mothers who seek treatment at the dental clinics
is small since the majority these days have regular treatment from private
practitioners. There is, however, still a significant number of mothers who
neglect their teeth. Some agencies of ante-natal care are more zealous than
others in coaxing their patients to have dental treatment. Thus we receive a
substantial number of requests from Hammersmith Hospital in respect of
mothers from the Acton area, and the hospital has a good follow-up system to
ensure that patients do attend. The percentage of mothers who are provided
with dentures (6 per cent.) is gratifyingly low, as is the average of teeth requiring
extraction per patient (less than one tooth per patient).
The condition of pre-school children's teeth varies widely. Overall we see
more children who do not need treatment (42 per cent.), and of the rest, whilst
there are some who have a large number of teeth which cannot be saved, an
increasing proportion are being brought for treatment in time to save the teeth.
As the figures given above show, more than three times as many baby teeth are
filled than extracted, and this is a gradually improving figure. Dental treatment
for these small pre-school children is very time consuming and is a field where
the trained dental auxiliaries, from the school at New Cross Hospital, would
have especial value. It is hoped that we will be allocated one of these young
ladies next year, and so be able to take part in this interesting experiment.
As encouraging evidence of the increasing awareness of mothers of the
importance of dental health in children of all ages, we have had several requests
during the year to give talks on dental matters to Young Wives Groups and
similar organizations.
24