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Another modification in environment which one hopes to see in the next 50 years
is the introduction of the fluoridation of drinking water. There is no doubt whatever
that the amount of tooth decay could be reduced if drinking water in Hendon contained
a minute and tasteless quantity of fluoride as it does in more fortunate places,
such as South Shields and Slough, where fluoride occurs naturally in the drinking
water and Watford, where it is added artificially. At the present time children bom
and bred in Hendon are fated to suffer an unnecessary amount of pain from bad teeth
and the use of dentures is accepted fatalistically by too many adults. The cost of
fluoridation of the drinking water at 6d. per head per annum seems trivial when
related to the nation's present expenditure of about £1 per head per year on dental
treatment.
Another change that we may expect in the next 50 years may occur in our smoking
habits, because as the risk of cancer of the lung from cigarette smoking becomes
more widely known, so the fashion of cigarette smoking must inevitably change.
I have included the report of the Chairman of the Borough of Hendon Old People's
Welfare Committee and an abstract from the report of the Hendon Old People's Housing
Society.
I would like to thank the Members of the Council for their support and encouragement
and also the members of the staff for their loyal and conscientious service
during the year.
I have the honour to be,
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
J. L. PATTON,
Medical Officer of Health.
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