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7.
and there is every possibility of further resignations in 1959.
It Is unfortunate that at this critical time the work, of Local Authority
dental officers Is so misunderstood. There is a body of opinion which considers
that hospital, private and local authority dentists all carry out quite different
forms of dentistry. This has arisen from the assumption that dentistry is
divisible in the same way as medicine. It is accepted, for example, that
Neurological Surgeons, Medical Officers of Health and Oeneral Medical Practtloners
all carry out vital but very different branches of medicine. in
dentistry there are no such watertight compartments, with the possible exception
of a handful of full-time dentists in 'Faclo Maxillary Hospitals', and the
senior full-time teaching staff at dental schools, it is safe to say that all
dentists spend much of their time doing what has been called "simple" routine
treatment. That the most eminent dentists in the profession actually do ordinary
fillings and straightforward extractions is obscured by the fact that they
often do them outside the National Health Service and therefore this work, does
not always appear in any official returns. Thus, it can be said that for practical
purposes all dentists spend nearly all their time doing exactly the same
work as the dentists carry out in the Dental Clinics of this Borough.
With regard to the statistics, it should be pointed out that every child
was examined at least once during the year, thus a total of 21,649 routine inspections
were carried out on 16,696 pupils. Hie reduction in the number of
special inspections in 1966 was maintained, thus emergency cases seen in 1953
have been nearly halved. Perhaps the most encouraging sign is the large
increase in fillings in permanent teeth, combined with a reduction in the number
of teeth extracted.
In addition to the treatment and inspection sessions the Principal School
Dental Officer devoted 20 sessions during the year to administration. It was
surprising to learn that all other Principal School Dental Officers devoted no
less than a minimum of 4/11ths of their time to administration. in this
Borough that proportion Is found to be unnecessary as clerical staff is made
available by the Principal School Medical Officer to carry out the routine administrative
work. The Principal School Dental Officer can then devote his
time to clinical work, and those aspects of administration which require his
personal attention.
Hie amount of orthodontic treatment carried out during the year was greater
than the previous year, but fortunately only resulted in a small increase in
the number of attendances. Considerable care will have to be taken in the
future not to embark upon too many cases. As the salaried dentists leave the
service their patients have to be added to those the remaining dentists are
already treating. As, following the report of the Royal Commission, there is
a possibility of a disintegration of the School Dental Service, It is hoped that
machinery on- a national scale will be set up so that current orthodontic cases
can, where necessary, be handed over to dentists in the Hospital and Oeneral
Dental Services, otherwise numerous cases will have to be abandoned in the
middle of complicated treatment, with catastrophic results both dentally and
legally.
Immunisation
The need for a high level of Immunisation among our children has at no
time been more Imperative than now.
Outbreaks of diphtheria, with fatalities, have been erupting here and
there throughout the country and on the continent with hydra-headed malevolence.
Doctors, health visitors and leaders of the community must continue to
clarion forth the cry. Only 100% Immunity against diphtheria in the first year
of life is the safe line of defence. 'Boosters' at 6 years and 10-12 years
of age repair the weakened battlements and ensure complete repulsion of later
onslaughts of this dread disease.