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gives one the information that only one out of every 2,500 will not
decay within five years! "The technique involves the cutting
out and filling of pre-carious pits and fissures in teeth, and is a
preventive measure that has been shown to yield results not
otherwise obtainable. In a well-staffed dental scheme with bi-annual
inspections, it would be possible, by the adoption of this technique,
to eliminate almost entirely the large restorations so frequently
found necessary when the intervals between inspections are unduly
long.
A further operative procedure of preventive value may be
mentioned. The immediate cause of dental caries is carbohydrate
stasis, and it is generally recognised that the normal close relationship
of each tooth with its neighbour is responsible for the difficulty
in preventing the lodgments of finely ground sticky food between
the teeth. If, however, the first permanent molars are extracted
at the age of 14 to 16 years, a movement of the remaining teeth
takes place with eventual fixation. Certain teeth become spaced,
others take up positions which cause them to be more self-cleansing
than is normally the case, and the whole dentition is in consequence
rendered less liable to disease. It is not suggested that the extraction
of these teeth should be carried out for all children. In selected
cases, however, where there is a marked tendency to dental
disease as evidenced, for example, by dental caries in the permanent
incisor teeth during school life, or early interstitial caries of the
molar teeth, there is a sound case for this procedure. It is
important that the extractions be carried out neither too soon nor
too late—between the ages of 14 and 16 years being the best time.
The total number of attendances made for treatment was 5,590
—an average of 7.5 attendances per treatment session. The average
amount of work carried out by each dentist on a session devoted
to treatment was:—
Fillings 5.7.
Extractions 10.6
Other operations 1.3
Of the 4,231 fillings inserted, 152 were in temporary teeth
and 4,079 in permanent teeth, while of the 7,893 extraction,
6,417 were temporary and 1,476 permanent teeth. In the total of
permanent teeth extracted are included 128 sound teeth extracted
for regulation purposes. The number of regulation plates fitted
was 16. There were 203 administrations of general anaesthetics
for extractions and 3,091 administrations of local anaesthetics.
"Other operations" totalled 1,000, included in this figure being
polishings of permanent teeth, applications of silver nitrate to
temporary teeth, dressings, root fillings, etc.