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26
"The table to which I have alluded shows, under their
respective headings, the number of school children examined,
with the proportion of those found dentally unfit, together
with the number of those who availed themselves of our
services. Then follows the number of attendances they made,
how many teeth were extracted and filled, and how many
general anaesthetics were administered.
"Another heading is entitled ' Other Operations.' This
always seems to me to imply something rather unimportant,
striking one rather in the same way as the ' etc.' at the end
of a long list of other more important things. If this appears
so to others, quite a wrong impression may be given, as
under this heading are listed treatments which, in efficiency
and time occupied, may represent quite as valuable a part of
the work as fillings, and more valuable than extractions.
"These 'Other Operations' include such differing forms
of treatment as scalings, dressings, temporary fillings,
prophylactic treatment, silver nitrate applications, the fitting
and adjustment of regulation appliances and, in a few cases,
artificial teeth.
"I may be permitted to make a few comments upon these
bare statistics and endeavour to give an impression, to the
best of my ability, of the work which has been done. And,
upon analysis of these figures, I should like to see what conclusions
can be drawn from them.
"Routine Inspections.—11,917 children from a total of
17,845 were examined in the year. In a complete year, with
the present staff, this figure should rise to about 14,500, thus
still falling below the necessary annual inspections. With
the increase in the period between inspections naturally more
treatment is found necessary for the individual, and fewer of
them can be treated effectively. Thus the bad effects are
cumulative. Obviously, mere inspection is of no use unless
treatment can be given when desired, and these inspections
supply sufficient consents to fully occupy the Dental Officers'
time. It would only be possible to treat (and inspect) more
children were quality sacrified to quantity. I may here
mention that these figures do not include the numbers of
secondary scholars who are now examined and treated, and
also that the Dental Officers' duties include an increasing
amount of work under the Maternity and Child Welfare
Committee's Scheme.