CARE OF CHILDREN'S TEETH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1645, 11 January 1913, Page 3

CARE OF CHILDREN'S TEETH.

AND DENTAL CHARGES,

(To tho Editor.)

Sir,T—Your ; correspondent "Parent," who writes complaining -of the fees charged him for the filling of his child's teeth, provokes some reply ; even at this lato time. The. sympathy that we undoubtedly have for him is very liable to be strained, owing to'his probably unin-, tentional misrepresentation- of fact, and because ho apparently only looks at tho matter from tho standpoint of his-, own pocket. Let us, take his. list of fees quoted:— The first is a fee of 7s. Gd. charged for two extractions. Now "Parent" ■ would make' it appear that these were plain extractions, that is to say, that tho operations ,wero performed without an anaesthetic of any kind. .We do not think that this was so. Wo tbinh.it more than likely that these teeth were removed cither with tho aid of an injection or that they were extracted .under gas!" if this supposition is correct; then, provided that, the work was skilfully performed' with duo regard to aseptic conditions, ho coiild not' well bs charged .;' ,les.«, unless, indeed, the,dentist;charged'nothing. His next .'item is akamisleatbug—ho represented it as "removing stain.", He would snake it appear' as. if : it were only one stain, whereas ■ it.' is . certain that. tho < fee was -really charged for cleaning and polishing all the teeth in "the-child's mouth., Now, unfortunately, most children aro , notori-; ously neglectful of th'o\cleanliness of.their mouths, and the. operation of cleaning and polishing, , or cleaning and scaling teeth is never a pleasant one from tho dentist's point of view, and is at all times well worth at least this small fee of'ss. that ho complains of. Tho only other alternative would bo to do it for nothing, and any. dentist who would do this;might easily bb employed from dawn to dark, and possibly far into the night. . Incidentally, jje would need not only to'bo a philanthropist, of a very high order, but to havo private means .as'..well. As a matter or fact, if "grown-ups" ,as well as children were moro assiduous in the use of their tooth brushes,, this,jtem might be deleted from the dentist's account altogether. This brings us to the charges for It is not necessary to take them separately, but merely to state that any filling properly and skilfully done is worth at least a fee .of 7s. fid. Your correspondent would havo us believe that all the .work ho specifies, namely—two extractions (we presume with an anaesthetic), cleaning; and polishing, and the insertion of eight fillings, occupied one'brief hour. To our mind this assertion is absolutely ridiculous. Three hours would be a very moderate computation indeed. Apart from tho actual doing of tho work, what about the time' necessarily spent in humouring, cajoling, and pacifying a child of ten? As a profession we nave long recognised that it is almost impossible for a-man with a salary of, say, £3 a week to give himself and his family proper dental attention, but the fault is not tho dentist's.

Has "Parent" any idea of the tremendous cost of dental material ? Does tlio question of the dentist's rent, wage-sheet, or ; working expenses ever cross his mind? Docs he realise what a dental education costs in time and money? We think that it is generally conceded that the working expenses of any business should not exceed 50 per cent, of tho turnover. Would "Parent" bo surprised to learn that the. working expenses of many dentists rufl nearer 75 per cent., and that the dentist charges not really for tho actual work done, but has an eye. to hi 3 expenses and general upkeep ? The dentist who does not would soon find himself >out of business. Again, does 'Tarenf know that if it were not from a sense of duty the busy dentist would actually shun children's work? Why? Becauso it is not a paying proposition. It is a fact that, speaking broadly, children can only' come to us after school hours, usually'between 4 p.m. nnd 5 p.m., and on Saturday mornings, when the busy dentist's, time is at a premium. Tho inspection of the children's teeth was undertaken simply to arouse the country to a sense of tho national danger, for, individually, and as an association, wo bolievo that if tho mouth and its organs, thor teeth; wero maintained in an aseptic condition, half the diseases that human flesh is heir to would disappear as if by magic. ','Parent" has emphasised what wo already knowthat if any good is to come of tho examination of tho school children's teeth means must bo found to bring tho work within tho reach of all. The problem will only bo solved wjion the Government takes up the matter and appoints dental surgeons to attend to the teeth of tho State school cliildren, whoso parents desire to avail themselves of such an. opportunity. Wo have frea education, why not free dental service?. And let it be said that if such dental surgeons' are forthcoming, they will bo high-souled, selfsacrificing men, for whatever their remuneration, their services will Wnxdvvnis in the extreme Let "Parent" and" others join' with the Dental Association in pushing on our Dental Hospital schomo, which has been too long delayed. Ho will then, find that theso grasping, greedy individuals that ho complains of nro prepared to givo certain voluntary servico per month for tho sake of the children, and for tho welfare of the land tboy livo in. Thus ho may be helped to a better estimation of tho dentist, and to a moro reasonablo attitude with regard to dental fees. , In'conclusion, let "Parent" compare his expenditure for dental servico to Ins child, which will probably tido over a considerable time, with his expenditure on less necessary affairs, and ask himself which is the more profitable.—Wo are, etc., It. D. ELTJIOTT, President.. MATJRICB 13. DENNISTON. TTon, See. N.Z. Dental Association, WelUajtaa Bowalu