View report page

53
ACCOMMODATION
The Borough now has 12 dental surgeries housed in 7 clinics. In addition
a surgery is maintained in the sick bay at the Hutton Poplars residential home.
The clinics provide facilities for the dental treatment of all the recognised
priority groups; school children, pre-school children, pregnant and nursing
mothers, and the mentally handicapped. There are a further three surgeries
in health centres, these being used by the Inner London Executive Council to
provide general dental services under the National Health Service.
Rebuilding of the dental suite at the Shoreditch Health Centre is now
complete, and the surgeries were brought into use in July 1966. This Centre
has three local authority surgeries plus two for use of the Executive Council.
Shoreditch has fully replaced the old Hoxton Treatment Centre.
Much effort has been put into improving equipment and facilities throughout
the Borough. Operating lights and high speed drills have been brought
into use in all surgeries, with much resultant benefit ,to both patients and
professional staff. A great deal has still to be done to bring the dental
facilities and equipment into line with that of the rest of the Country. However
this is a very costly process and will thus have to be phased over several
years.
with the enormous need for treatment serious consideration will have to
be given to increasing both staff and premises if a fully comprehensive service
for school children, apart from obligations to the other priority groups, is
to be provided.
DENTAL INSPECTIONS
Pull scale dental inspections are again in operation. It is aimed to
eventually examine each child at least annually at school, as recommended by
the Department of Education and Science, and as laid down by the Education Act
of 1944. This is a progressive move, which counteracts Mr. Forrester's
remarks in the last report; he stated that the system then in operation was a
retrograde step, which would not establish the prevalence of dental disease in
the school population. Such an annual inspection is essential if advice and
treatment is offered to each child and its parents as and when needed. In
addition, the assessment of oral disease so obtained enables us to plan for
future manpower and surgery needs relating both prevention and treatment.
Out of a school population of 35,139 children, 27 per cent (9.347) had
at least one dental inspection during 1966. This low figure was due to the
changeover from the previous to the present system. Of those examined, 75.9
per cent were found to require treatment, avery high proportion indeed. This
compares with a national average of 59 per cent. The high figure is almost
certainly due to a direct result of poor dental facilities in the past. If
this figure is representative of the Borough as a whole, extreme difficulty
will be experienced in the very near future in coping with treatment of these
children, as well as inspecting them. In view of the very large increase in
school population expected in the near future, intelligent steps must be taken
to prepare for the expected increase in demand.
TREATMENT
10.324 children attended surgeries on 31,129 occasions to receive 26,246
fillings, and to have 6,376 teeth extracted. Thus although the number of
fillings is approximately the same as last year, the number of extractions has
increased by 1,173 teeth.