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50
Distribution of Welfare Foods

Priority Dental Service for Mothers and Young Children
This service shows little change, and the dental officers devoted 8% of their
time to the inspection and treatment of expectant and nursing mothers, and children
under five.
The number of mothers who were examined and treated remainded constant, also the
conservative pattern of the treatment. There was a slight increase in the number of
fillings and extractions performed and dentures provided. Each mother treated had an
average of 3.3 fillings and 1,3 extractions, i.e. the same ratio of 2,5 fillings to 1
extraction, as recorded last year, and made an average of five attendances.
637 children were examined, including 62 at day nurseries, an increase of 74.
510 (80%) were found to be defective and 479 of these (90%) received treatment. For
each child treated, an average of 2.5 fillings and 0.6 extractions were carried out,
and 3,5 attendances made. The ratio of conservations (fillings and silver nitrate
treatments) was 6.6 to 1 extraction.
It is interesting to compare the above with the statistics for the year 1953 and
note the changes that have taken place. 15% of the dental officers' time was then
required and 100% more mothers and over 50% more children were treated. At that time
it was very difficult to obtain appointments with a practitioner in the National Health
Service and there were long waiting lists. The ratio of fillings to extractions was
1.3 : 1 for mothers and 2.1 : 1 for the children. Pressure of work and, to a certain
extent, the lack of appreciation for conservative treatment were responsible for this
state of affairs.
Nowadays it is not surprising that many mothers will choose to have continuous
treatment which is readily available in the General Dental Service, and to receive the
privilege later extended to them, when expectant and nursing. Also it is easy to take
the young children with them when attending for treatment, and one gets the impression
that the better types may be lost to our service.
The Dental Auxiliary carries out certain treatment for the under-fives, and has
had the opportunity of talking to groups of mothers at mothercraft, ante-natal and
toddlers' clinics, devoting 10% of her time to the priority classes. The need for
dental health education is still great, as the incidence of dental disease is much too
high. The simple lesson of caries control learnt by wartime conditions is forgotter.
or disregarded, and prosperity has contributed to the daily over-indulgence in harmful
foods. Our aim is to promote "tooth consciousness ", particularly in the preventive
field of diet and oral hygiene and to encourage the early and regular inspection of
young children by dental surgeons, so that individual advice can be given, and where
necessary, defects remedied before they have deteriorated to cause pain and loss of
function.