SCHOOL CHILDREN'S TEETH

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 5, 1 May 1939, Page 4

SCHOOL CHILDREN'S TEETH

A singular fact that makes for somewhat rueful reflection is that Maori children in Whakatane, by virtue of their free dental treatment have a definite advantage over their pakeha cousins who because of the apathy displayed in the past are deprived of the dental clinic treatment which the Government "has made available to all School districts willing enough to help themselves. In this respect Whakatane lags behind many a smaller centre which years ago recognised the worth of the movement, and by local enthusiasm and efforts raised' the necessary capital to ensure the erection and maintenance of a clinic. Dr. R. M. S. Taylor of the Health Department Hamilton visited Whakatane last week and once again expressed regret that a town of Whakatanes size and importance had not yet been seized with the urgent need for the care and treatment of the "School childrens teeth, Hence with a thriving juvenile population, we have a borough of two thousand persons and a county population of eight thousand and surely in such a cause the requisite «um of £200 is a comparatively small item. The suggestion for Whakatane is a two-nurse unit which would be capable of treating all children up to standard IV and later on, even children of pre-school age. The Government undertakes subsidy of £2 for £1 providing two thirds the building costs, and will also equip and furnish the clinic with every device and requisite of modern dentistry. Clinic committees are formed to control and maintain the clinic which becomes a unit in the dominion-wide chain. It is usual to antcipate that this will be somewhere in the region of £30 per annum which is apportioned out comparatively to each school included in the scheme. The committee has the right to charge up to 5/- per patient but this is seldom imposed, the usual amount collected being approximately 3/-. In some districts where the service has been instituted for many years the committee collects the full amount from the proceeds of a special concert or school entertainment. In this way the individual levy is completely eliminated. Reference to any existing clinics in neighbouring districts will confirm to the utmost the wonderful work that has been done, and the marked improvements in the health of the children who are tr.eated. It should not be necessary here to dwell on the immense value of the clinic from a health point of View. Bad and decaying teeth mean weakened digestions and organic diseases of a wide and varied nature. The idea of treating the children is an effort to eliminate would later on in life when teeth which ha.ve been neglected for years slowly undermine the strongest constitutions. Taught not to fear the dentist children soon realise that the treatment is for thfeir own ultimate good and 1 thus form habi.ts which result in better health, stronger bodies and happier dispositions. It has been said that New Zealanders are handicapped by the lack of lime in the natural water and the small percentage of mineral .salts in the soil, which go a long way towards the building up of calcium requisites of the human body, through food. It needs but a moment's reflection however to realise that the Maoris who inhabited this land before the advent of the Pakeha possessed splendid teeth, perfect in every way and capable, of giving a lifetime of rugged service. The appalling dental decay in New Zealand to-day is in stark contrast, and the effects are to be seen reflected in every kind of disease that packs our hospitals. Prevention is always better than cure and natural teeth are a hundred times better than artificial. Give our children the chance of dental treatment.from their earliest years and by bringing about the institution of a local dental clinic help them to become healthier and better | citizens of the future.