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ment and keeps his own appointment, and again, it is lowest in
the infant and toddler group where acceptance rate is high.
The lecturers from the Dental Board have again delivered
their dental talks to the senior scholars. These schools have been
duly inspected, and the apparent results in acceptances are not
very encouraging. Of these schools, only one has increased its
acceptances, the others are stationary or there is a marked decline.
The school with the increase is a Boys' Senior School and the
acceptances for three inspections were 11.5 per cent, for the first,
11 per cent, for the second to 20 per cent, for the last. The
corresponding Girls' School has 36 per cent., 35 per cent., then a
drop to 21 per cent. Another Boys' Senior School fell from 25 per
cent, to 11 per cent. One Central School remains high at 40 per
cent., second inspection 36 per cent.; while the other shows only
16 per cent, and 20 per cent, for the two last inspections. Both
are Boys' Schools.
During treatment at the Clinic many of these senior scholars
have been questioned relative to finding out what they had learned
from the lectures. Most had gained a slight knowledge from the
instruction given but had little idea of putting it to practical use.
Much more can be done by instruction while the patient is in the
dental chair.
Taking acceptances over the whole district the highest percentage,
68 per cent., was from a mixed Church School, followed
closely by other Church Schools. In the same block of schools
the number of acceptances varies greatly. Boys' Schools are
generally lower than girls. The lowest of all the schools, a Boys'
Senior School, showed only 9 per cent, acceptances.
"Propaganda should start from the first infant visit and
should aim at prevention of dental disease, and not merely at
securing a patient for the Clinic. The latter is good, but it is only
in the former that any definite advance on health lines will be
reached.
"As yet the teachers are our best propagandists and richly
deserve thanks for their efforts to keep their scholars alive to their
necessities.
"While dental treatment remains voluntary, the extension of
dental benefit lies in propaganda, and it maybe, that, adding the
cost of this propaganda to that of the treatment, the expenditure
appears very high and somewhat out of proportion to the benefit
conferred.
"The number of failures to attend is still very high. Many
are the very young, and very many of these are the casual cases
who have been relieved of pain and who do not intend to keep
appointments for conservative treatment. The casual does not