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treated by fillings, together with an indefinite number treated
by other" methods, it will be seen that these children were
found in one year to have over 15,000 centres of infection in
their teeth alone.
"This does not take into account those who refuse treatment
entirely, or merely attend for the extraction of painful
teeth, many of whom naturally have more diseased mouths
than those who accept treatment.
"General Anaesthetics.—We continue to use nitrous oxide
for the majority of extractions, as experience has taught us
that it is safer, quicker, more popular with the patients and
less liable to unpleasant after-effects than local anaesthetics.
"Such is the work that has been done. What conclusion
can be drawn from these facts ?
"Surely the first is that dental caries is the most widespread,
most prevalent of diseases that affect the children of
Walthamstow. Indeed, reports from various districts of
England and Wales indicate a similar condition all over the
country, with very little variation under differing conditions.
"In spite of much research he would be a bold man who
asserted that he knew the cause of this almost universal
disease. Indeed, the fact of its universality amongst all classes
and divisions of civilised society indicates that one item of
diet, or lack of it, one habit or its neglect, a state of nutrition
or malnutrition, poverty or well-being, cannot alone account
for the condition.
"The only fact appearing amongst a mass of theory is
that, on the whole, caries is a disease of civilised man, and
appears in such proportion as the individual is in contact with
civilised conditions, with the unbalanced and de-natured diet
that accompanies them. It appears to be a fact that, in
certain Institutions, where an effort is made to supply a
balanced and natural diet, dental conditions have greatly
improved.
"It being neither possible nor desirable to return, for the
sake of our teeth, to the habits and customs of our ancestors,
it would appear that, in the present state of our knowledge,
nothing better can be done than the work, especially ' fillings '
and other conservative treatment, which we have been considering,
together with the encouragement of the adoption
of a balanced and natural food consumption so far as this
is compatible with the standards of living which we have
adopted. But I feel that emphasis must be laid upon the
fact that all of this work can, at best, be put under the
heading of ' repairs.' Is there anything that can be done