View report page

Miss Marsden reports—
During 1931 all the schools allotted to this area were inspected,
and treatment given as far as possible.
The Edith Kerrison Nursery School was also inspected and
the children were all completely treated once.
The percentage of carious mouths is still very high, approximately
80 per cent. of the children requiring some treatment.
It is very difficult to make the parents understand that the
children must attend regularly and not spasmodically—they still
tend to put off the evil day, until tormented with toothache. There
is still the same tendency too, for parents to prefer extractions
rather than conservative treatment. They state "Well, after all
the teeth have to come out in the end."
I should like to thank all the Head Teachers and the teachers
for their help and co-operation during the year.
Mr. Heywood reports—
In reviewing the work accomplished at the Clinic during 1931
it will be better to deal firstly with the least encouraging aspect—
those children whose parents have refused to accept dental treatment.
There is room here for enormous improvement. The same
children appear time after time at routine school inspections
suffering from progressive dental sepsis, and, in not a few cases,
chronic abscesses. Home visits do very little to dispel the idea
which all these parents firmly hold that dental attention is quite
unnecessary for children who do not suffer from toothache. It has
seemed to me that the lectures organised by the Dental Board of
the United Kingdom especially for school children, on the whole
of this subject of dental sepsis and oral hygiene, might very usefully
be given an experimental trial in our schools.
To deal, secondly, with those parents who have accepted
dental treatment—the work shows an increase over the figures
for 1930, and a great deal has been achieved towards the eradication
of dental trouble. Many of these parents have shown marked
enthusiasm for both dental treatment and advice for their children.
SUMMARY OF WORK AT THE SCHOOL CLINICS.
The four School Clinics serving the Borough, are as follows:—
(1) Stratford Clinic, 84 West Ham Lane,
Drs. Thomas and Ison.
(2) Balaam Street Clinic, Plaistow—serving two areas.
Drs. Lupton and Borland.
(3) Swanscombe Street Clinic, Canning Town.
Dr. Fitchet.
(4) Rosetta Road Clinic, Custom House.
Dr. Furniss.
202