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of such a person.
A dental auxiliary is a lady who has had a 2 year training
in performing simple types of treatment for children. She has
to pass a qualifying examination at the end of her training and
is then able to work only in the hospital services or the Local
Authority dental services. The work she can perform is strictly
defined, and she must work under the direction of a dental officer.
The dental officer has to examine each patient, and will instruct
the dental auxiliary to perform simple aspects of treatment. The
dental officer will also check each patient after the dental
auxiliary has completed her work. It can therefore be seen
that the dental officer is always responsible for the patient's
treatment, and that a dental auxiliary by carrying out the simpler
types of treatment can leave the dental officer more time for the
more complicated types of treatment. The dental auxiliary at
Loughton Hall clinic is a popular member of the staff and well
liked by the patients.
As mentioned in last year's report, the Dental Health
Education prograrrme has been continued and expanded during 1969.
Follow-up talks, which are so important in keeping the rules of
dental health in children's minds, have taken place in all the
primary schools in the Chigwell Urban District,, and the full
Dental Health Exhibition has been taken to primary schools in the
Waltham Abbey and Ongar areas. At the requests of teachers, talks
and film shows have also been given to some secondary school
children at Dunmow Secondary School, Fyfield Residential School,
and West Hatch Technical High School."
Infectious Diseases:
Apart from respiratory afflictions there are now only 2 well
recognised infections which still cause troublesome epidemics in
schools. These are dysentery and infective jaundice. The organisms
of both conditions are found in the bowel, and spread from child to
child by transference of infection to the mouth from contaminated
hands. Theoretically., good hand washing should prevent both diseases
but even, in the best equipped school such a degree of hygiene is
difficult to achieve. In spite of this it is always possible to
put a speedy end to dysentry by using additional measures. Jaundice
is more difficult to control.
Health Educations:
Until 1969 only 2 secondary schools made regular requests for
health education. In recent months however there has been an
increasing awareness of the need for health education and help is
being sought by both secondary and primary schools. I gave a
brief review of the situation in my report for 1968. There is
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