View report page

75
(h) Dental Treatment.—Miss M. M. Loretz, the School
Dental Surgeon, reports:—
In 1938, 2,668 children were inspected in the Elementary
Schools in the course of 23 routine inspections. Nine schools,
with an average attendance of 2,013 children, had not been
visited by the end of the year. In addition, 862 children were
inspected in the surgery, and 482 Leavers during special Leavers
inspections; 629 sessions were devoted to treatment of
Elementary School children, during which time 2,418 children
were given complete treatment, and 472 partial treatment;
4,273 teeth were filled (3,478 permanent and 795 temporary);
4,337 teeth were extracted, of which 3,646 temporary and 544
permanent were for caries and 147 permanent for the relief of
overcrowding. Other operations performed during these
sessions include 125 scalings, 490 temporary dressings, 158
treatments by AgN03, four crowns and two dentures fitted,
16 root fillings, 72 adjustments etc. to 8 orthodontic appliances.
The apparatus used was generally of a simple nature, and the
cost of it was borne by the parents.
It is very pleasant to be able to record a further drop in
the percentage of refusals of treatment to 15 per cent. for the
whole district—10 per cent. in Brentford and 18 per cent. in
Chiswick.
361 of the 482 Leavers inspected left school with Certificates
of Dental Fitness. As the acid test of the efficiency of a
School Dental Service is the condition of the teeth of Leavers,
it is interesting to note that, on the average, each of the 361
Certificate holders had 22 sound teeth, 4.5 filled teeth, and had
had one tooth extracted for caries and .5 for the relief of
overcrowding. This is not a picture of which to be proud, but
it should be noted that few of these children had received annual
treatment when required during the whole of their school life,
because, for some years past, the "annual" school inspections
have taken place at 15 to 18 monthly intervals, and in some
cases treatment had been allowed by the parents only in the
last two or three years. However, one has every reason to hope
that, with the increase in staff, with consequent possibility of
strictly annual inspections, and the decrease in the refusal rate,
the condition of Leavers will improve far beyond this standard.
Two notable events in the history of the School Dental
Service have occurred during the year. On May 2nd Miss
A. S. Stewart, L.D.S.U.St.And., commenced duty as full time