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Through attendance at the Centres, mothers (expectant and
nursing mothers; may receive dental treatment; provision is also
made for dental treatment for children under five years of age;
also, the mother is put in touch with the many other facilities
available under the Council's Maternity and Child Welfare Scheme
viz. convalescent treatment for the children, and for nursing
mothers, sunlight and orthopaedic treatment in cases where such
is necessary. It is gratifying to note that at all Centres there are
a large number of women who attend regularly, realising that
the Centres are not for treatment of her sick child but are definitely
for the prevention of illness.
Dental Treatment.
The Dental Scheme has not been modified since 1932; treatment
is given to expectant mothers, to nursing mothers (up to
six months after confinement) and to all children until school age.
As has been stated previously, there is still difficulty in inducing
expectant mothers to receive this treatment, and much education
of the public is required to remove the considerable prejudice that
undoubtedly exists: dental treatment is an urgent necessity in
many cases, and it is deplorable to note the pronounced degree of
dental caries among the women, even in young mothers.
In regard to the young children, this treatment is more
acceptable, and it is rare now to have a child brought to the
Dental Clinic requiring multiple extraction. The mothers realise
the necessity of conservative treatment in its effect upon the health
of the toddler and in its later effect upon the permanent dentition.
Once a child has attended the Dental Clinic, it is kept under
regular supervision by the Dental Surgeon until it goes to school.
This system of reinspection impresses on the parent the necessity
and importance of preserving the primary teeth.