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105
while the treatment was being carried out, and they can
see for themselves how the work is performed; they can
see that their child is treated with care and consideration,
and that the Clinic is conducted in a businesslike manner.
Home Visits.
The Dental Nurse has made 160 visits to certain parents
during the year.
A proportion of the children who are referred for
treatment do not attend, and the object of these visits is
to ascertain why they have absented themselves. The
nurse often finds the parents in distressed circumstances,
they cannot afford the necessary one shilling. In these
cases the Children's Care Committee is always willing to
assist, and the necessary treatment is carried out. Sometimes
it is found that the mother has no spare time to
bring the child to the Clinic owing to the nature of her
work. In these cases a neighbour or friend is readily
found, and the children eventually attend.
Such cases we can deal with. Unfortunately, we are
not always successful, and the cause is apathy—the parents
are not interested in their children. No reason is offered
for their absence, they promise to keep their appointment,
and then fail again. During the coming year we hope
to find some method to secure the attendance of these
children who suffer through the apathy of their parents.
Other Services.
During the year certain children were received from
the Girls' County School, and the necessary work undertaken.
These girls are usually of a keen type, and make
good and appreciative patients.
A number of very young children are treated at the
Dental Clinic under the Maternity and Child Welfare
scheme, with the result that they enter their respective
schools later on in good dental condition.
On Saturday mornings a Clinic is held for nursing and
expectant mothers under the Maternity and Child Welfare
scheme. Advice is given and operative work undertaken,
but no provision is made for artificial dentures.