London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Heston and Isleworth 1933

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]

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For this reason Inspections have only been carried on sufficiently to keep the Surgeons
occupied to their full capacity, or rather their full capacity as conditioned by the limited
accommodation.
With regard to the Board's Table IV., Group IV. (Dental Defects, page 35), it should be
noted that the number of "Specials," 1,646, represents special "Inspections" of various kinds
at the Clinic and not individual children. Some of these Specials will also have had a Routine
Dental Inspection and be included in these figures. They also may have had to be referred more
than once as Specials, and will thus have been recorded on each occasion as a special inspection.

The 1,646 are made up as follows :—

(1) Referred for Gas, or Gas and Ethyl Chloride1043
(2) Advice given441
(3) Treatment postponed160
(4) Inspection after Gas—required further treatment2
1646

Conservative Treatment.
It may be said that the chief aim of the treatment here is towards conserving the teeth,
keeping extractions down to a minimum. This is indicated by the fillings figure—5,227, which
works out at 158 fillings per 100 children treated, whilst the number of permanent teeth filled—
4,657, works out at 141 permanent teeth filled per 100 children treated; the figure for the whole
country averages 62 fillings per 100 children treated (Health of the School Child, 1932).
Extractions.
The number of teeth extracted was 5,094 (1,082 Permanent; 4,012 Temporary). With
regard to the extraction of permanent teeth, the figure given in the Health of the School Child,
1932, is 31 permanent teeth extracted per 100 children treated. Our figure was 32 extractions of
permanent teeth per 100 children treated.
A plea is here entered to all those colleagues upon whom the duty of reporting lies, to make
their statistics on the lines here attempted, or alternatively, to suggest a better standard by which
the activities of various Clinics can be better compared.
The form of the Board's Table IV. showing dental defects has again been amplified (see
next page) in order to show items of information which may help towards the proper comparison
of the dental statistics of different Authorities. A better appreciation of their import is conveyed
to the reader if opposite certain figures percentages and notes are given throughout the whole
table, where possible and applicable.
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