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SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE
The following is the Principal School Dehtal Officer's report for the year 1965:-.
The transition from the former County of Middlesex to the autonomous London Borough of Haringey
took place on the 1st April 1965, and the smoothness with which the change was effected was a tribute
to careful planning during the final six months of the existence of Middlesex.
The former Health Area No.3 consisting of the Boroughs of Tottenham and Hornsey, had added to
them the Borough of Wood Green from the former Health Area No.2, and statistics which follow in the
appropriate parts of this report, being for the whole calendar year, include those for the first quarter which
at that time were attributable to the County of Middlesex.
Inspection and Treatment
Routine dental inspections at schools occupied 204 half-day sessions.
The number of school pupils examined at least once in any given year, with the expectation that
necessary treatment will subsequently be provided either by our service or by the General Dental
Practitioner, whichever may be the preference of the child or parent concerned, gives some measure of
how far we fall short of the ideal of 100% examination.
During the year under review the total number on the school rolls as at the 31st December was
33,156. Of these, 17,760 were first examined at school and a further 3,378 were first examined in the
clinics, making a total of 21,138 which represents 63.7%. In addition, a further 2,666 were re-examined
duringtheyear,either at schools or in the clinics,after a previous course of treatment had been completed.
From the total number of those examined and re-examined, treatment was required by 13,217 (62.5%).
Total attendances for treatment were 28,521, while a further 6,421 appointments were not kept (22.5%),
which together accounted for 4,015 sessions.
The greater part of the treatment we provide is conservative in nature as befits a dental service for
young patients, and it is gratifying that we have long passed the days when the school dental service was
able only toextract vast numbers of teeth for relief of pain and sepsis, with little conservation of permanent
teeth and virtually none for the temporary dentition.
During 1965 we completed 14,156 fillings in 12,104 permanent teeth and 7,962 in 6,826 temporary
teeth, while the number of permanent teeth extracted was 761 and temporary teeth extracted 3,451. The
overall ratio of permanent teeth filled to those extracted was 15.9 to 1, but as the permanent extraction
total includes 395 teeth removed as an essential part of orthodontic treatment and not because of decay
or infection, the more realistic ratio would be 33 to 1. The ratio of temporary teeth filled to extracted
is 1.9 to 1.
Compared with the National average of 5.1 : 1 and 0.6 : 1 for permanent and temporary teeth
respectively, our figures give some cause for satisfaction.
When extract ions are necessary it is general ly preferable for young patients that these be done under
general anaesthesia. For this purpose we employ qualified anaesthetists on asessional basis, when
sufficient appointments are given to justify this system. 1,651 general anaesthetics were administered
during the year,the majority at these routine sessions, but some for immediate relief of pain were given
by dental and medical officers.
Teeth conserved by means other than filling, such as application of silver nitrate and stoning, total
2,464, whilst scaling and polishingwerecarried out for 1,149 patients. "Other operations" are necessary
but usually minor items of assorted treatment whichdonot fal I logically under any other descriptive heading
and these amounted to 5,578.
Despite all our attempts toconserve permanent teeth whenever possible, we still found it necessary
to supply 24 dentures during the year, but these were almost wholly for replacement of front teeth, either
broken beyond repair or knocked out by the sort of accidents which are all too common among young and
active children.
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