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6
Ear, Nose and Throat Defects.
Individual defects are shown in Table III (Group III),
others being included in Table III (Group I).
Arrangements with Erith District Hospital for operative
treatment of tonsils and adenoids are still in force but are
handicapped by the small number of beds available and the
general shortage of staff. There is some evidence of need of
more regular specialised supervision for this type of case.
Visual Defects and External Eye Disease.
The ophthalmic service during 1942 has been entirely
carried out at the Hainault Clinic, and Mr. Oliver Walker has
again acted as your Consultant Specialist. This work in the
borough is increasing and Table III (Group II) gives the usual
s statistics.
Dental Defects.
It is pleasing to record, that despite the smaller number
inspected this year, actually more children have had treatments.
There are still, however, too many 44 refusals " of dental
treatment.
M iss H. Thomson-Smith, your dental officer, further
reports:—
In spite of difficulties created by war conditions the work
of the dental clinic has proceeded and the service provided has
been comparable with that of a normal peace-time year. It
should be noted with gratification that the average number of
fillings per session of conservative treatment has risen from
3.4 to 3.6 per session. Further the number of tooth extractions
has dropped from 55.3 to 36.3 per gas extraction session. The
above comparisons are made with the appropriate figures of
the previous year. Twelve root fillings were completed during
the year. In view of the delicate and tedious nature of this
work and therefore the necessity for the exercise of great
patience on the part of operator and patient this type of
treatment is usually considered too difficult for clinic practice.
With regard to prosthetic treatment, that is to saj^, the
construction and fitting of dental appliances, the number fitted
during the year has increased threefold. Most of these, of
course, were supplied under the Maternity and Child Welfare
Scheme.
Orthodontic cases have been divided into two groups.
The more straightforward cases have been treated in the clinic,
whereas the more difficult cases have been referred to the
appropriate departments of the London Hospitals, in order
that the benefits of specialised opinion might be secured.