View report page

The comparative table, this year given on page 16,
shows that the acceptance rate varies from school to school
and from year to year. Where the percentage of treatment is
high, credit is due mainly to the enthusiasm of the responsible
teachers. It will be seen that the schools with senior
pupils show lower acceptance rates. This may be due to the
older children being more successful in "getting round" their
parents in order to withhold consent. As these older children
should be more amenable to reason, it is possible that a little
stimulation might turn the balance. Perhaps an award for
Oral Hygiene could be instituted, to be competed for and held
each year by the school with the best dental record. After all
this is just as important for physical well being as competing
for any other team race, and it would serve to put a clean
set of teeth on parity with a clean pair of heels. In assessing
values it is not only the number that attend for treatment
which must be taken into account, but the number found to
be sound at dental inspection. The latter is very important
because it includes those who are effectively helping themselves
by the toothbrush habit.
While complacency is to be avoided as it tends to stagnation,
the outlook is not a gloomy one for there are only
relatively few really outside the scheme. It must be remembered
that the changes are being rung on the four columns.
Children who require treatment this year may appear as
sound next year and vice versa; and children who do not
accept one year may do so the next and, again vice versa.
It is an unfortunate fact that there are still parents who
only consent to treatment when they feel the matter is urgent.
One or even two small cavities requiring to be filled, which
they cannot see, is not sufficient to induce them to bother.
These parents tend to consent every other year. This is
regrettable as it means that for their children an annual
service is distended to a two-yearly one. The operation of
filling becomes more tiresome for the child because there
is more softened tooth substance to remove, as well as being
less satisfactory as a repair because there is less sound tooth
structure left to support the filling. This is particularly
true of temporary and smaller permanent teeth. If parents
94