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THE SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE
Fluoridation
The Council of the London Borough of Camden decided on 22 December 1965 to support
fluoridation to the public water supply. The Metropolitan Water Board has indicated that this can only
be done if all other local health authorities within the Board's area of supply make such a decision.
If, as I firmly believe, fluoridation is an essential measure of preventive health, its introduction
should, in my view, be prescribed by statute in areas with a low fluoride content in their
public water supply.
Mr. G.P. Mailer, Principal School Dental Officer, reports as follows:-
Mr. G.P. Mailer was appointed as Principal School Dental Officer in November, 1965. His
first task was to survey premises and equipment; this revealed a number of inadequacies. Thus,
only one surgery had efficient operating lights, whilst in only two were modern high speed drills
in use, and the one x-ray machine was in the extreme south of the Borough. All deficiencies were
reported to I.L.E.A. and plans are being made to rectify them.
The loss of the dental clinic at Highgate New Town Centre in January, 1965, by the closure
of the premises meant that a large area in the north eastern part of the Borough was without a local
dental service and placed a heavy burden on the nearest centre (St. Pancras School Treatment Centre.)
Plans are in hand to improve the distribution of clinics by opening a centre in Highgate
as soon as possible.
The year saw the introduction of the optional scheme under which only new school entrants
were dentally inspected as a routine (except at special schools, where all children were examined).
Of other school children, only those whose parents opted to use the school dental services were
examined, and treated where necessary. This of course, considerably reduced the number of dental
inspections compared with previous years. This optional scheme was regarded with some doubt by
dental officers and others, and it is hoped that in the near future there will be a return to regular
school dental inspections.
Orthodontic Services
The number of cases referred for orthodontic treatment continued to be small, and this
may well be largely because the specialist orthodontic services are at present concentrated in the
extreme south of the Borough, but it is hoped that the whole Borough will be comprehensively
covered in the future.
The figures for the year are as follows:-
New cases 31
Completed 9
Discontinued 2
Removable appliances fitted 52
Fixed appliances fitted 1
Referred to hospital consultant 37
In spite of difficulties the restoration/extraction ratio for permanent teeth was 17.4/1.0.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
A review of the facilities for and the arrangements of medical examinations at schools
commenced at the end of the year.
Arrangements are in hand for medical officers to carry out an annual inspection of sanitary
facilities and general hygiene standards at schools.
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