NOTES ON EDUCATION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 401, 9 January 1909, Page 14

NOTES ON EDUCATION.

■ DENTAL HYGIENE IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS. (Br Socrates.) It is somewhat, significant that within the last few days two great national assemblies —the;-New Zealand - Dental Association and the New. ; Zealand Educational Instituteshould considerthe question of dental hygiene in publio schools to be of sufficient importance to. warrant a special, session for its consideration.' At,the : opening session of the Dental Conference in' Wellington onMonday evening last tho president's inaugural./ address was devoted to the advocacy of a/systematic inspection of the; teeth of school children; while down in Dunedin, the following evening, Dr. H. P. Pickerill, head of the Dental School at the Otago University, delivered an address on the teaching of idontal and oral hygiene in primary schools. before tho conference of delegates from the various' branches of tho New Zealand Educational Institute. As an interesting -■ contribution to' tho general question of medicah inspection- ,of school children, Dr. Pickerill's. : address, as .. reported -in the Otago '"".Daily Times," is worth reprinting. Dr. Pickerill prefaced his remarks by quoting .the recent , words of a dental surgeon on .tho staff; of College Hospital,- after an 7ext<»ded : 'examination of London" school children:— .. . ■.. "I'next selected -from my charts.those which showed tho largest amount of oral sepsis and sent the names of the children to the- headmaster in order to find out from him how they stood ,as their school 1 work, and ,he .reported' that in ' nearly all ;■ cases they wero holow the average of: their ages, and in'some cases markedly to." '. ,' These words; said Dr. Pickerill, were pregnant with warning, and he had put them in the forefront' of -his paper as being likely to;: arrest attention r;and to show at' once members of 'the 1 - profession /of teaching. : Ho did not ivish, to introduce anything fresh or extensive into ■ their; already somewhat cro-iy(i-ed' but: would merely- iiidicate.:.'specifically:-- : a;-/branch of ;teaching wbic,h;.was~ most strangely omitted, wbicli:;!Tyis;(!dvet^..;and : m by tho regulation.'tt.-lj:i;' the. structure of. the bqdy jye ; .Wtena.?di:*Sot as s a' course'; in physiology, bri|. vof att'yiutr6ductiOn : knowledge of; the laws of health as 'of the community: ojight'.'to'.pbssess."

. ."laws. of health'' inbluded= : .'atterition''. i to oral': hygiene, seeinjg-hovf';-,, I vastly ;health.. 1 was .'affected by -dental---disMsos -and' defects. ' Again, the teaching? should:be imparted digestion, oto;,? but-s'without mention of the ; impottant';' rol6 f :'play'6d. by mastication : in; Withbut;.definite ■attention . it. was ;ine^itably:''loYOTlwked. : ,;',His ;object. , was to 'jout /Qfake their regulations and ¥ teaching; rationally ; complete arid -ef^e^veV/',^ei'- ;^l>j^^,,^' i oral hygiene coiild \ribt';be.;, 6mitted; ,; '.That;, was not a subject purely academio in >; interest or a matter\.Vfhich couldvbe'jindefinitely postponed uhtil'time'-and chanco aft'orded an opportun- ' into:; our .-schools; It -was - a -thing -which-.-was crying 'aloud for their \ holp. It concerned, a . problem .'.which l ;the7..'as.,;a";,prpfepioE;jhadia, greater,: opp'orV tunity of helping to solve than .any otliei' 'of ithe; community. - . The teeth of the'children of this generation'were fast-'rottirig .away, arid :-with them; must: irif :.evitably, -gO the physical and; .mental :-c'wellbeing.. ''Tho mere absenco of.. ani efficient jmasticatingjapparatri's : counted; for much; sicaldebillty, but the poisons, .'toxins): and .germs ingested witKjtbo ; destruction';of, the :teeth.|.accouiited-. for- 'a^■•'"terrible:,-,'ainoiiri't of ill-health -and pain of. botly and -mind. ;Niiietx per .cent.-.'of their children were afflicted with .dental disease in : stages. ('-,Tho: civi' lised; world was -gradually'.iwak'ening Ito these facts. Dr. Qstler, Professor-of Medicinfi ■at Oxford,'"who had iexercised -his uniiyalled' powers of observation- in England, Amoricaj' and ; -Canada, statedV'-that de-? ; terioration%as' due, to .defective teeth. thaii to; alcohol.Effects' of -the latter were open,' of. the former . invisible, slower, and . thereforo far., riiqro . dangerous. :.. v ■ .: ; ,i v

: Sir- John Tweedy, a president, of tho Royal i College of ' Surgeons, said:—"Possibly no ' single/thing- 13 more mimical to physical < well-being- (especially in' young people) than ire ■'defectsrand'dis'easeß 'of the teeth." The \ Royal .Commission on"" rsical Degeneration 1 sitting'; in.-Englaiid -u. "time :ago; found 1 fchat deritaltdefects'were an; extremely potent factor.' in. the. pliysifcal degeneration . .of tho • children ? ;of JVfefi., they; returned to., their.; schools /.tEeyj would find that 1 the ] bhildren with'the-most" marked oral sepsis ' and. dental defects. Would be under tho av- .' erage' weight/ lower.'than theiy ought to be; in their classes, and.'moretunhealthy, in appear- 1 ance. than' the other' children.' '' ' Dr. Pickerill went on to'say that if food : was : not .'.digested-absorption , became limited;' . and. the general nutrition ,of; the child failed. Besides"thitf. negative faction. there was a '; positively; deleterious action by the pus,-or- ' ganisms,; and toxins/, the inevitable conse- ' quence - of' dental disease in its advanced stages., v These, ingested with tho food, might be absorbed, circulatory system; and so give rise: to: what .was .really, a: chronic blood-poisoning.; *Poisoned';blood failed in its functions,, hence the .child became anaemic, the brain was deprived of pure; oxygen , and .the child \ went to tho bottom of the'' ; class.-.The fprnat fundamental fact; teachers! had'to'iea/.y. was. th^t/,they'cpuldi. : not. get; " Nfi&pj# of.£;ieholsr than ; .was put in, ana a develop; Itt J action a for,- a sllortl time, but it must sooner or later break down. Dental defects were; too often , responsible -for' 1 the development ofenlarged tonsils, duo partly to -the. irritant effect of the septic matter, .and also of the narrowed nasal cavitiesSin..'many;"casesJaccompanying ; defective dentitions. Tho 'function of tho teeth as a masticating,. crushing, and .guiding apparatus ■ . was rapidly being forgotten. .Sit did', not occur to < people thai they were paying a high" price for tfieir 'food to' bo prepared in artificial mills, whilst , totally neglecting the machinery' of Nature;. which, becoming; ruinV ous,: the owner had'to pay severely for repair, -Some; fibrous, hard food was, necessary! for. the; proper of ;the .jaws and tho natural cleansing of the teeth. If the; jaws .did not develop ..the teeth became crowded togother arid irregularly placed, t and the nasal cavities did hot develop.; They had ) physjearand health' drill—an exercise; for deedly beneficial, in .certain; cases, but in : many casos it-was of no use whatever when the nasal, cavities .:had >u not developed, because the <jaws : are narrow and tho roof of' the mouth;.very high. Ho believed that. a form' of jaw drill; would in .these very numerous cases be far more efficient in expanding'the nasar cavities,- and-so .obviating the growth besides'- 'doing.'away, with the round, back, fiat shest, ana dull expressions. The speaker, ;by i means of diagrams, proceeded»to give a very lurid illustration of the gradual decay of teeth .by acids emanating from', biscuit, and: chocolate adhering to' cavities in the' crown of tho teeth. 1 The remedy lie would propose was that they, as teachers,; should receive'some instruction or read up the subject (riot a very large,Hhough such an important one), and that questions should be set in their papers, on hygiene ; that they should /impart this knowledge to the children systematically. Was that asking them to undertake too much? They would be; gainers iu the end, in having healthier, 'scholars. ' It' need not take up much of their school hours ; two" or' three- Half-hours in each term would be sufficient. It WQuld be necessary for each school to be supplied with, a set of diagrams,; such aB those" before them; - but -he thought' that there would be; no difficulty' in gettirig the authorities to supply 1 theiri, provided they were assured that thc>' would be systematically used. Dr. Pickerill outlined the sort of lesson which might be' Suitable:— Lesson I.—Normal tooth, enamel, dentine,; borie,. pulp; and nerve; obviously made for:grinding, not' for; sucking, squeezing, or squashing.

ll.—Soft, stidKy food adheres to teeth and ihen ferments'. Explain later-how acid forms. Acid dissolves enamel.

: lll.—Microbes from mouth got in acid, destroy bone of tooth, causing inflamed nerve and toothache. IV.—The nerve dies,-and is replaced by a mass of putrescent material, and' abscossos form at the root of the teeth, constantly discharged into the mouth and being J• —Tho remedy. I: Eat hard, fibrous food, whole pineal bread, ;porridge,, crusts, fruit, meat. •• 2: .Avoid' biscuits,' soft white bread, chocolates, .caramels,-' and lollies generally. 3; Aid. Nature by cleansing the, teeth every night before going to bed. • Explain best form' of tooth brush and method of using. .4: Use-, simple dcntrincc, such as chalk or-whit-' ing and borax. -,••• . • ltules for hygiene of the mouth were set forth: ion; the diagrams as under:—l: Do not eat soft, sticky food, such as biscuits soft white bread, chocolate, caramels, etc!' 2:' Eat. wholemeal bread, meat, fish, poultry, vegetables,- fruit, etc. 3: Do .not drink while eating. ' 4: Brush the teeth night and inorning. 5: Brush all. surfaces of the ■teeth. - 6:Use a little chalk and boras on the brush. , 7r. Perfectly clean teeth cannot decay.-- . ; . . ■ As a hint) "sugar consumed per capita in 1905!' was set forth: New Zealand, 108.641b.: United States, 92.56; Great Britain, 77.83; surplus New Zealand over Great Britain, 30.g1. • ■ ■■■ ' ■

Dr. Pickerill went on to suggest that they might ..cultivate the power of observation in children by making them observe how the. teeth of domestic animals were admirably adapted to their needs. • No child was too young to, receive, instruction. Save the milk teeth,: and they would probably save the permanent teeth. It was too much, perhaps', tb.ask ..them.'to inspect-the chil-dren's-teeth, - but he .presumed that if a boy come ;to schoor with' an obviously unwashed fr.de it. would cause comment. He thought.that with no trouble but a. little observation- children ; could be kept up to the mark ~in the. matter of teeth. doubtedly a large share of such instruction and supervision was the duty of the parents, but they could_. not reach them ; and could not rouse them." The rejection of young men for the army and navv was in many causes owing to. defective teeth, not a mere quibble, and he -said, if avman'was unfitted for either : of the . services he was just as much unfitted for any other work, trade,: or. profession. The appointment of State-paid- dental surgeons to.: our public' schools might become necessary to; stem'the ever-advancing tide of dental disease, but : it .was a';measure of expediency, only it'was Wrong in, principle. It was, ,he believed, the duty of the State to teach..the community the ilaws. of. health and -to! see; that these are obeyed as far as, possible; j but ho did; not .think it was to the - best interests of the";children l in this case to provide free' treatment when -these laws wero disobeyed. :It '.would tend to further negligence and, it 'would, at least-, lesson both. the. child s and the parents' sense of responsibility. To', them, as . teachers," was committed, to a .large extent, 'the moulding of;future generations; If-they would see the best result' of, their labours they could not 'afford,'to' neglect- the teaching of dental and oral hygiene in their schools.-