THE DENTAL CONFERENCE

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 400, 8 January 1909, Page 7

THE DENTAL CONFERENCE

.ELECTION OF OFFICERS. A EEVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT. ..' The concluding session of tho Dontal Conference took.place yesterday. , . . ' Office-bearers for .tho year were elected as follow;— President, Mr. Frank Armstrong (Dunedin); vice-president, Mr. C. W. Hay (Dunedin); ■ treasurer, Mr. Davies, L.D.S. (Dunedin). The conference ' decided to ask. Professor - FickenU, of the Otago School of Dentistry, to accept the position of secretary., The . other members' of the .-.executive will be elected by the local asscn ciations ''during - the next mouth or Tho present executive hold offlco until the end of Maroh.: ■.■■■■■■.-. ■. ■ • ■ ■It was definitely decided that the next con-, ferenco : should .be held in Dunedin during Easter, of next year. ■ , : •.-. Mr. Edwin Cox,(Auckland), who was referred to as .an old and well-esteemed member of the profession, : was - elected .a life member of the Now Zealand Dental Association. '," i.. When all other business bad been disposed of,; delegates passed, a vote of thanks to .the.president, of the exeoutivo for the satisfactory ar-; rangements which they had made in connection with; the' sittings of ; the conference, and; the entertainment, of visitors. • The retiring: president, Mr. A. Hoby, remarked on the very satisfactry work accomplished during tho four days on which the conference had met He congratulated delegates on the'" result, 'and-, expressed^the hope that the deliberations would .'result 1 in benefit ,t6 the dental profession, and to the community'as a whole. ' . Most of tho delegates, both- from northern: towns and.from the south, left Wellington,for their respective homes yesterday afternoon and evening. • ,- v>.\- .-

CHILDREN AND CARE OF TEETH. . Mr. A. Hoby, tho retiring president of the. •New Zealand Dental. Association, when seen by a' Dominion representative. Gaid - that, he felt quite sure the conference would be of great ' valued and the effect of. the dijsoussiohs which, had taken place would bo felt by the profes-. sion right . through the Dominion., Altogetheri it had-been : a,"very, successful; conference, and the average daily attendance of delegates had been 55.; "There ; wa9( manifest a-.very, hopeful, spirit, aiid Ke believed; that the conference'sdecision -would i result in substantial. benefit , to all 'members of the profession.- A - lecture; on '"Dental .Hygiene" /had., been prepared .; by Messrs. Carter and Skene-Dixon,' of Auckland, . and the intention was that it should ./'be ■ read to childi-eniattendihg the public schools of ,New Zealand. ''The lecture, which" had'come, before : the: last conference," had now been - revised, and was ready for printing. A committee was appointed by the conference to wait on the Hon.' Mr. Fowlds, but it had not been found possible to.arrange an ; appointment.' Mr. Hoby said, that , he intended to, interview thia . lfinister : as soon, ,'as possible, .in; order that, an ■ opportunity, might be given; for - delivering •• this , lecture- to' the : school children. Mr. Hoby expected that the lecture' wouldvb'e" before, the ■ school: children swithin: a' month or; so, . provided that arrange-' ments could be made for tho tcachere to take ohargeVofthe -lecture or' for local dentists to explain the-principles laid down in it. ' It was; hoped that, bv means of the lecture, our school, children would learn <the need of caring for "their . teeth.'. 'Filling' was .wasted labour the" children hntl not learned : that it was -essential; .'they.,should, take;care of..their..teeth and keep.them"'clean. The first step,.'said.Mr.; •Hoby/ was to impressjupon the boysfand girls the necessity.for.attendiig to.their, teeth; they!j must be shown the value of a! sound set of teeth, and '.made; to realise 1 that .the propei rmuhchingj/df: food : had;a beneficial effect. Mr.; Hoby wa« 'hopeful that something definite .wouldi.be ; done,'.shortly in .the matter ,of,:'prei serving; tho teeth of school' children in; the . Dominion.