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

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Richmond upon Thames 1965

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Richmond upon Thames]

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A measure of the success of the combined attack on dental disease by dental health
education and conservative treatment is shown by the ratio of fillings (5271) to extractions
(254) due to decay of the permanent dentition of more than 30: 1, whilst the
national figure is 5:1.
Four clinics in convenient parts of the borough have a session devoted to the
extraction of teeth under a general anaesthetic once a fortnight. For three of these
sessions a consultant anaethetist is employed on a sessional basis and for the other a
medical officer who is an experienced anaesthetist.
The orthodontic surgeon treated 498 cases with 237 appliances and completed
treatment for 71 children. Twelve courses of treatment were discontinued and 15
patients were referred to a hospital consultant. Ten school children were supplied
with 11 dentures.

The dental laboratory which has a staff of 1 chief technician, 7 senior technicians and 2 apprentices, supplies the needs of not only this borough but also of the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. The output from the dental laboratory is as follows —

DenturesOrtho. appliancesInlays and CrownsMisc.
3551983167469

A visit by Messrs. A. G. Smith and J. Rodgers of the Department of Education
and Science to the clinics in the borough was made in the early summer and Mr. K. C.
B. Webster, a dental adviser to the Greater London Council, paid several visits with
special reference to the dental laboratory service.
Two full'time students at the Chiswick Polytechnic course for dental surgeryassistants
attended clinics at Hampton and York House on Wednesdays during the
Spring and Summer terms to gain the practical training necessary for their examination.
Mrs. Briggs, a dental surgery assistant, gained the Diploma of the British Dental Nurses
Association as a result of evening study at Chiswick Polytechnic.
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