London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Hackney 1966
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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It is essential to devote as much time as possible to young children.
Only by means of dental health education and by early courses of minimal dental
treatment shall we ensure that children will start school with healthy mouths.
Unless we begin as early as possible, we shall continue to be presented with
teeth that are only fit to be extracted by the time children go to school.
We must therefore begin to concentrate our efforts on children attending day
nurseries and toddlers' clinics.
Because of changes in Ministry recording regulations, it is not possible
fully to equate 1966 with the previous year. More mothers and children attended
for treatment in 1966. It is gratifying to see some increase in the number of
fillings. At the same time I am horrified to record that the number of teeth
extracted from pre-school children was six times greater than in 1965.
However, to keep the figures in perspective, this may be partly due to a 50 per cent increase in the number of children attending for treatment.
| Children Aged 0-4 years | Expectant and Nursing Mothers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 1965 | 1966 | 1965 | |
| 1. INSPECTIONS: a) Number of first inspections | 622 | 809 | 395 | 567 |
| b) Number requiring treatment | 400 | N. A. | 328 | N. A. |
| c) Percentages requiring treatment | 64. 3 | N. A. | 83.0 | N. A. |
| 2. VISITS FOR TREATMENT: a) First visits | 762 | 455 | 351 | 422 |
| b) Subsequent | 890 | N. A. | 1,088 | N. A. |
| c) TOTAL | 1,652 | N. A. | 1,439 | N.A. |
| d) Additional courses of treatment commenced | 10 | N. A. | 12 | N. A. |
| e) Attendances for general anaesthetic (incl. in total) | 82 | 4 | 20 | 3 |
| f) Emergencies (incl. in total) | 9 | N. A. | 15 | N.A. |
| 3. PATIENTS MADE DENTALLY FIT | 456 | 421 | 174 | 207 |
| 4. ANALYSIS OF GENERAL TREATMENT: a) Fillings | 1, 283 | 1,044 | 1, 280 | 1, 271 |
| b) Teeth filled | 1,002 | N. A. | 984 | N.A. |
| c) Teeth extracted | 224 | 35 | 278 | 336 |
| d) Patients x-rayed | 2 | 1 | 14 | 27 |
| e) Scaling, prophylaxis and gum treatment | 30 | - | 288 | 174 |
| f) Teeth otherwise conserved | 544 | 344 | N. A. | 124 |
| g) Teeth root filled | - | - | 8 | - |
| h) Crowns and inlays | - | - | Nil | 1 |
| 5. PROSTHETICS: a) Patients supplied with full upper or lower dentures | - | - | 15 | N.A. |
| b) Patients supplied with partial dentures | - | - | 18 | N.A. |
| c) Number of dentures supplied | - | - | 53 | 127 |
N. A. - Not available