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143
Oral Hygienist.
The Oral Hygienist has continued to devote 7/11ths of her time to
Leyton, and the remainder to Walthamstow.
As has been previously reported, the incidence of tartar deposit on
the teeth of school children is not sufficiently high to enable Dental Surgeons
working in the Area to find sufficient of this work to occupy an Oral Hygienist
full time; but the importance of her work, from the point of view of instruction
to children on matters of oral hygiene, cannot be overstated.
The young patients are brought up to look on visits to the dental surgery
as a normal part of school life; they are taught to value and look after their
teeth; and much of the "spade work" of introducing the child to dentistry
is done by the hygienist. All this results in more co-operative patients for
conservative dental work at a later date.
It has been noticed that many of these patients request re-appointments
at regular intervals for a check-up without being approached in any way
by the clinic staff.
Orthodontic Treatment.
This work continues to be much appreciated by parents, and the one
special session a week devoted to it is well attended.
The main difficulty, as in any under-staffed dental scheme, is to be
certain that too much time is not devoted to this work to the detriment of
conservative dental surgery. A certain amount of selection of cases is
therefore justified in order (a) to ensure that the maximum amount of
benefit is obtained for the time expended on the work, (b) to undertake the
treatment of only such pupils as can have the dental work brought to a
successful conclusion before school leaving age, and (c) to avoid undertaking
orthodontic work for known bad attenders or where there is the slightest lack
of appreciation for the work.