View report page

79
found to be suitable for treatment in an Elementary School.
Those recommended for treatment were children suffering from
Tonsils and Adenoids, Ear Discharge and Impacted Cerumen.
The eight children referred for observation only comprised
of two cases following operation for Mastoid and six mild
cases for which no obvious cause could be found.
Otitis Media.—Forty-six cases of this disease were
referred for treatment during the year, viz.: eight at Routine
Inspections and 38 at Special Inspections. It is very noticeable
that comparatively few of these children show any
marked impairment of hearing, and that in most cases any
defect of this nature is rapidly improved or cured with
treatment.
Other Ear Diseases.—One case of Mastoid disease and
20 cases, including Impacted Cerumen, Furunculosis of the
external auditory canal and skin affection of the external ear,
were seen during the year.
Dental Defects.—Miss Loretz, the Dental Surgeon,
deals fully with this subject under the heading of "Dental
Treatment." Too much stress cannot be put upon the
importance of this branch of the service for improving the
general physical condition of the children, for many ailments,
major and minor, that occur during both childhood and adult
life can be traced to dental disease. The improvement found
in the dental condition of the older children in the Chiswick
Schools is most marked, and a large majority of them now
leave School with their teeth sound. These results have only
been obtained by strenuous work and the use of considerable
overtime on the part of the Dental Surgeon, and an extra
session for this work will be greatly appreciated. The 248
cases seen by the School Medical Officer at Routine
Inspections were chiefly entrants who had not previously
been seen by the Dental Surgeon, a certain number of
"refusal cases," and leavers who required a little treatment
to render their teeth perfect. The 34 cases seen at the Special
Inspections were chiefly of children suffering from toothache
or dental abscesses.
Crippling Defects.— The following table of children
suffering from these defects was compiled with the help of