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Maternity and Child Welfare.
Complete treatment, that is fillings, scalings, extractions,
dentures, etc., is provided for ante and post-natal patients and
for pre-school children referred from the Maternity and Child
Welfare Clinics. Parents of pre-school children are advised to
bring them at three-monthly intervals until school age is reached.
Children under five years of age make excellent patients and the
early and regular treatment provided largely eliminates the
necessity for carrying out extensive treatment, often involving
extractions, at school entry age. The number of children taking
advantage of the service, however, is small compared with the
total number of school entrants.
As far as possible all treatment is carried out early in
pregnancy, but the fact that the majority are not in the habit of
seeking regular inspection and treatment means that, to render
each patient dentally fit, much work of a lengthy and time
consuming nature is required.
That this branch of the service is an expanding one is shown
by the increase of 963 in attendances over those for 1945, and
936 more fillings were inserted. The ratio of permanent fillings
to permanent extractions is now 2.7: 1 and that for temporary
fillings to temporary extractions 2.5: 1. This is a satisfactory
indication of the high standard of treatment being given but gives
no grounds for complacency.
Expectant and nursing mothers and pre-school children are
afforded a high priority for treatment but it is unfortunate that
any increase in the number of sessions devoted to this work can
only be made at the expense of the school service. Only an
increase in the staff and in the number of surgeries available
will effect an improvement in the service as a whole.
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