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76
The Extraction of Teeth.—Very little work is done under local anaesthesia
for several reasons.
Firstly, the general septic condition of the mouths, and secondly, all these
patients are either expectant or nursing mothers, and there is a widespread and
ignorant prejudice against having any dental treatment during these times,
therefore we try to minimise the element of shock and we, the anaesthetist and
myself, find that these mothers take nitrous oxide "gas" extraordinarily well.
Unusual cases are seen now and again, and one mother, who had a large
cleft palate, was supplied with a denture and an obturator to replace her soft
palate with vast improvement to her speech and, consequently, her general
happiness.
With regard to the treatment of children below school age, I find it disappointing
work; in most cases, when I see these children, their temporary
teeth are beyond repair. Here again extractions under "gas" are carried out,
our youngest patient being only 15 months old. No dental chair being small
enough for these tiny people, they are duly anaesthetised on the nurse's lap.
Generally speaking, the children I see show evidence of poor calcification
of the teeth. This means that the teeth are made of poor materials and do not
resist decay. The cause of this again goes back to methods of infant feeding
and more particularly to the kind of food given to very young children. Until
a great change comes over the feeding habits of the bulk of the people there will
be no improvement in the present bad state of the children's teeth. Wholemeal
bread, fresh vegetables and fruit should take a much more prominent place in
children's diet than they do to-day. I quite understand that economic reasons
are the chief hindrance to a more intelligent and varied diet for ordinary people,
but this is outside the scope of this report.
PROVISION OF MATERNITY HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION,
CONVALESCENT HOME TREATMENT, MIDWIFERY
ASSISTANCE AND HOME HELPS.
Maternity Hospital Accommodation.—The Council pays the
sum of one guinea in respect of each necessitous person admitted
from the Borough for treatment at either of the undermentioned
hospitals. Expectant women are deemed to be eligible for assistance
under this scheme if, by reason of poverty or other cause, they
are unable to pay an amount equal to one-half the average cost
per patient of the maintenance and administration charges of the
hospital concerned for the preceding year.