YOUNG PEOPLE RUSH FREE DENTAL SCHEME

Chronicle (Levin), 8 March 1947, Page 5

YOUNG PEOPLE RUSH FREE DENTAL SCHEME

-Press Association

By Telegraph-

WLLL1NG 1 UA, Alar. o. "Already niany thousands of ciiildre under 3(5 have appliod for the fre dental treatnient inaugurated Dy t ti Governnient in Februarv, ' ' said HuiH. II. Nordmeyer, Alinister of lieai... today. " Approximately two-thinis o. private dental practitioners have undertaken to cooperate with the sclieine which is fully supported by tlit New Zealand Dental Association w!n. agree this is no political issue but a necessary soeial measure calculated t> improve the. standard of dental liealti of the young people of this Dominion The serious shortage of dentists lnm nuule it inipossible to include im mediately all groups up to the age o. 30 but this "position will gradually be remedied as more dentists comploti their training at Otago UniversiU dental school where the number n dentists in training today is almos three times as niany as before the wa:. "When the present Governnient tooi. office not more tlian half the primar. school children were receiving fre> dental treatnient but under the new sclieine organised, continuous denfa care will be extended to post-primar. age groups. "There has been a certain amount oi ill-infornied criticisni as to the nieagr nature of the fees paid to dentists There are 17 difTerent charges ranging from 7s (id to 30s. T. am sure tln dentists themselves who assisted iu world ng out the details of the schenn are completely satislied with this ai rangement. Tf th rough the operation o. thh sclieine dentists are overworked to day, it is only because a large pro portion of our young people could tio alford to pay for the necessary atton tion. I am sure the dental profession aa whole will cooperate in this essentia task of raising New Zealand 's denta health standards and thus help to safe guard our position as the most health;.' nation in the world."