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52
THE ORICIN OF THE ORTHODONTIC SCHEME.
It was found at the Dental Clinic here that a very great number
of cases required more than the treatment usually given and
sanctioned in School Clinics the conditions being—patients with :
Misplaced Teeth at every angle apart from the normal it was
seemingly possible to get.
Jaws not in normal arch relation to each other.
Teeth that did not occlude (antagonize) together.
Protrusions and Retrusions of jaws and teeth.
Open Bites due to Adenoids and Tonsils; the use of dummies;
sucking of the lip, tongue, thumb, finger, blanket, etc.
Mouth Breathers with all the usual concomitant irregularities.
Impacted teeth.
Teeth erupting through the centre of the palate.
Teeth impacted and lying on the floor of the mouth.
A Hare Lip and Cleft Palate case, previously operated upon.
In short, every class and description of case one would expect
to find in a large Dental Hospital.
Here and there as a routine Clinic matter a few cases, could,
and would, have had to be treated by extractions only, and the
ultimate results left in the hands of nature. This unsatisfactory
state of affairs was reported to Dr. Nash who eventually was able
to frame a satisfactory scheme.
For the benefit of any other School Medical Officers who may
be confronted with a like problem, the steps taken are set out in
full detail.
Firstly —Extraction treatment—good in its place—could, but
did not solve all the problem; it was useful only in a few cases,
the bulk of which were met by the symmetrical extraction of all
the first molars, in the majority of cases. The reasons for this
decision as against Pre-Molar extractions were:—
(1)-—The ^ J ^ were usually in at least two non-opposing
teeth, unsaveable