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48
ORTHODONTIC SCHEME.
During the year negotiations had been in progress and final
sanction was obtained from the Board of Education for a complete
orthodontic scheme.
The number of children who require deformities to be deall
with in order to obtain an efficient masticating machine, and in
certain cases reduce the deformities which are definitely disfiguring,
is quite considerable.
Hitherto the difficulty has been that the only means of getting
these treated was for the parent to attend with the child at the
Royal Dental Hospital, which meant that for the poorer patients
this was out of the question, on the grounds of the time occupied
by repeated visits, and by the necessary expenses which these
visits entailed.
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Negotiations had been fairly prolonged owing to the difficulty
in getting a workable scheme. Hitherto dental students have been
taught orthodontic treatment on lines which can only be applied
to the well-to-do, and this to a considerable extent, one must say
on cosmetic grounds.
The point which I have taken is that with dentistry now coming
into its own, there must be a refocusing of the ideas with regard
to dental practice amongst those of limited means, and also of the
teaching to this end.
The situation as I see it, and insisted on in the negotiations
is best set out in one of my letters to the Secretary of the Royal
Dental Hospital.
" Re Royal Dental Hospital Letters
" With respect to our interview, I take it that the position
is this.
You will in future arrange that all cases I send up shall
be seen for consultative purposes only, and the Orthodontic
Specialist will prescribe on some agreed form exactly what
he considers is the correct treatment for the particular case,
and I would suggest here that if there is any particular reason,
I should be glad if that reason could be added.