London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Willesden 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Willesden]
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54
IMMUNITY TO DENTAL CARIES ENQUIRY
The attention of school dentists was drawn by the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of
Education in his Annual Report for 1931, to the lack of information regarding children who are
known to be naturally free from dental disease It was suggested that an investigation, confined to
children of the ages 12-13 years be conducted by all school dentists working under local authorities
The data set out in the following Table is our contribution to this enquiry
Table No 40
IMMUNITY TO CARIES ENQUIRY TABLE
| (1) No of children inspected (12-13 year group) | 4,860 | % | ||
| (2) ,, „ immune to caries | 68 | 14 | ||
| (3) „ parents „ „ (1 deceased) | 135 | No of parents with good teeth | 40 | 29 |
| No of parents with bad teeth | 95 | 70 | ||
| (4) „ brothers and sisters | 168 | No of brothers and sisters with good teeth | 134 | 79 |
| No of brothers and sisters with bad teeth | 34 | 21 | ||
| (5) General physique | With good physique | 58 | 852 | |
| „ poor | 10 | 148 | ||
| (6) Domestic circumstances | With exceptionally good | 15 | 221 | |
| ,, average | 43 | 632 | ||
| „ poor | 10 | 147 | ||
| (7) Use of the tooth brush | Regular brushing | 35 | 514 | |
| Irregular „ | 18 | 264 | ||
| No | 15 | 222 | ||
| (8) Dietary habits— | ||||
| Milk consumption | Milk in abundance | 33 | 485 | |
| „ moderate or little | ||||
| amount | 35 | 515 | ||
| Sweet consumption | Sweets in excess | 7 | 10 | |
| ,, moderation | 61 | 90 | ||
| Cod liver oil | Habitually | 15 | 22 | |
| Occasionally | 11 | 16 | ||
| Never | 42 | 62 | ||
| Feeding during infancy | Breast | 48 | 70 | |
| Artificial | 20 | 30 | ||
| Fruit and vegetable consumption | In abundance | 51 | 75 | |
| Little | 17 | 25 | ||
| (9) Formation of jaw | Good | 66 | 97 | |
| Poor | 2 | 3 | ||
30 of these children were subject to a more detailed examination for jaw relationship and
position of teeth
(1) 8 of these had excellent shaped jaws and normal relation of all their teeth
(2) 5 had normal occlusion of the molars:-
1 complicated with excessive overbite
3 with irregular fronts
1 with pronounced gothic arches
(3) 17 had distal occlusions:—
6 bilateral with regular fronts
2 „ ,, excessive overbite
4 unilateral with regular fronts
4 ,, ,, excessive overbite
1 with very irregular front teeth