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182
As a result of this successful venture a return visit of Pierre the
Clown to the borough has been arranged for March next year, to visit all the
schools missed this year.
Towards the end of the year plans were being made for a follow-up
oampaign to all primary schools and talks will be given to children in small
groups by the regular dental staff, and films shown.
In November the dental staff participated in a general health
exhibition staged at the Chessington Youth Club. This was open to youth
club members on the two evenings and to senior pupils from the local secondary
schools on the same two afternoons. Some equipment for this was loaned by
the staff of the Children's and Periodontal Departments of the Royal Dental
Hospital, to whom the borough is indebted for their co-operation.
Talks have been given and films shown by some of the dental officers
in the schools in their area.
In addition, a great deal of chairside time is spent with patients
who attend the clinics in the borough, and with their parents, in teaching the
correct method of tooth brushing, discussion of suitable non-cariogenic diets,
and in stressing the importance of regular dental visits. In children not
dentally inspected until entrance to school at the age of five years, decay
is often rampant, necessitating extractions with all the consequent problems.
One of the distressing facts that dental officers experience in their
visits to schools is the large number which still have tuck shops. These tuck
shops sell almost exclusively cariogenic foods, mainly biscuits, sweets and
lollies. While this state of affairs continues the dental condition of our
children will never improve, and dental surgeons in general will be spending
their time providing treatment for what is largely a preventable disease.
ORTHODONTIC SERVICE
The orthodontic service is at present staffed by two orthodontic
surgeons, one of whom attends for two sessions and the other, who holds a full
time appointment combined with Surrey County Council, the London Borough of
Merton and this borough, attends for five sessions.
The demand for orthodontic treatment by patients and dental surgeons is
increasing and at the end of the year there was a waiting list for consultations
and treatment. For the majority of cases a removable appliance is used to align
the teeth correctly. However, more fixed appliance work is being carried out for
certain carefully selected cases, necessitating increased chairside time for these
patients, but usually at the conclusion of treatment, the aesthetic result is
very much finer than could be achieved with a removable appliance.