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66
between the inspections of 16 months or more. It is a
melancholy demonstration of the fact which was stated by Sir
George Newman in his report of 1929, and which he has restated
in one form or another ever since, viz., that " nothing
short of annual inspection associated with the necessary
treatment will produce the results that are the main purpose
of the School Dental Service." There is no prospect of any other
state of affairs than that exposed in the foregoing paragraphs
existing in this district as long as the equivalent of 1 3/1 Dental
Surgeons is responsible for the care of a school population of
5,000 to 6,000 children, of which nearly 75 per cent, to 80 per
cent, accept treatment. Additional assistance to the extent of
two sessions per week was provided on April 1st of the current
year. The extent to which this extra help will ease the situation
cannot yet be assessed. The expected decrease in the school
population in 1935 will not be sufficient to right matters with
the present accumulation of work still to be performed, and it
is only if and when the number of school children descends to
the 3,500 level that the present Dental Staff will be sufficient
to give them the service which they require and which they are
more and more learning to appreciate and expect. I would
respectfully refer anyone who would wish for further and more
authoritative evidence in support of the foregoing statement,
to Sir George Newman's report " The Health of the School
Child," 1929, page 60, and his 1932 report, pages 51 to 61.
With regard to the operative work carried out at the Clinic
as compared with the previous year, one must again note the
regrettable result of the 16 to 18 months' inspection periods in
the increase in permanent teeth extracted and the decrease in
the number filled. Furthermore, the time involved in filling
these teeth was in the majority of cases twice that which would
have been required if the cavities had been treated four to six
months earlier. The number of children treated and the
attendances show an increase, although the number of sessions
devoted to treatment was less. The work was carried out at
high pressure throughout the year, and the majority of the
sessions were extended beyond their normal duration. No
sessions were spent other than in treatment or inspection. All
work of an administrative nature, such as correspondence, the
drawing up of reports, etc., was done outside Clinic hours.
The School Leaving Certificate of Dental Fitness was given
to 444 of the 537 children who left school during the year, so