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53
SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE
There has been an increase in the number of School Dental Officers from an average of 4 in
1954 to an average of' 5 in 1955.
The school dental service is responsible for inspecting and treating children who attend maintained
schools. Children should be inspected and treated every year and preferably every six months.
In 1949, owing to shortage of accommodation and difficulty in recruiting Dental Officers, only
one-third of the school population were inspected and offered treatment, so that, in general, children were
being inspected only once in three years and treatment was, therefore, not satisfactory.
In February, 1952, a restricted scheme was introduced to deal yearly with children who had not
reached their ninth birthday, in order to prevent dental decay which would only lead to more work in the
future. The foundation, of dental health is laid down in the early years, when the first permanent teeth
erupt and malformation of the jaws and irregularities of the teeth can be prevented by conserving the
temporary teeth. Also, it is generally more difficult for younger children to obtain treatment outside the
service.
In 1955, 9,946 children in the restricted age group of approximately 10,000 were inspected at least
once in the year and 7,625 required treatment. A further 1,937 children came direct to clinics as specials,
1,050 of whom were from the older age groups. Of a total of 15,351 inspections made both at school and
at clinics, 11,643 children were found to require treatment, and 5,469 accepted treatment. (Table 1.)
In October the number of sessions for orthodontics was increased from two to five sessions.
In the course of the year, full time Dental Officers conducted 307 evening sessions as compared
with 260 in 1954.
PRIORITY DENTAL SERVICE
In 1955, 13% of' the Dental Officers' time was spent in treatment of the priority groups 224
expectant mothers and 71 nursing mothers were treated. During the year, 807 children under five were
inspected, including 231 at Day Nurseries; 623 required treatment and 429 had their treatment completed.
(Table 2.)
There is a slight decrease in the numbers of expectant and nursing mothers but treatment for children
under five continues to increase and every opportunity is taken to explain to mothers the value of early and
regular treatment for their children.
Table 1 Dental Inspections and Treatment
(a) Inspection.
Age Groups
No. inspected
No. found to
require
treatment
No. referred for treatment
at the County Council's
dental clinics
Under 5 (Nursery Schools only) —
28
17
16
5—16 and over
13,386
9,784
8,548
Specials
1,937
1,842
1,829
Totals: 1955
15,351
11,643
10,393
1954
10,864
8,950
7,700
(b) Treatment
1955 1954
No. of pupils actually treated 5,469 4,856
No. of attendances for treatment 14,966 12,242
No. of half-days devoted to
(a) Inspection 190 136
(b) Treatment 2,227½ 1,648
No. of fillings of
(a) Permanent teeth 7,650 6,653
(b) Temporary teeth 4,937 4,375
No. of extractions of
(a) Permanent teeth 611 659
(b) Teeth for orthodontia 252 270
(c) Temporary teeth 4,568 4,450
No. of anaesthetics
(a) General 2,272 2,308
(b) Local 364 216
Other Operations 6,178 4,020