CARE OF THE TEETH.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1797, 9 July 1913, Page 3

CARE OF THE TEETH.

| — « ——— . DENTISTS' CONGRESS. i, STATE SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS SUGGESTED. PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. In his presidential luldress to the New Zealand Dental Association'yestertlay, Dr. N. K. Cox, of . Timaru, dealt with the causes of decay,-of the' teeth and outlined «i scheme for.a system of State dentistry for the care of the teeth of, children attending the primary schools. The conference was attended- by about 100 members of tho dental profession from all parts'of the Dominion. ' ' Dr. Cox, in opening his address, remarked that there now seemed to be sorno prospects of finality in the search for the causes'of dental caries. The point that the dental profession required'to take note of wag the fact that the process of'civilisation was gradually changing tho condition of our mental and physical systems. In accordance with tho law of, use, our mental and nervous systems were developing ut the expense- of, or by the change of, our physical and muscular systems. So with the dental organs—the present lack of active exercise they were once accustomed to have, of gnawing hard roots, bones, etc., in the old ages, compared with the gentle act of swallowing tho output of tho modern electric oven had been disastrous to the soundness and fitness of the teeth. However, it was extremely doubtful whether the highly sensitive and highly developed systems of our present and future generations would tolerate Iho dietetic and physical regime necessary to remove the causes of decay. It mny be quite truo that the masticating of hard fibrous food and the eating of tart substances at tho end of every meal would savo an enormous number of teeth, but what percentage of the children of to-day would ' willingly adopt this after having partaken of tho present civilised meals? Nor, if any one of them were brought up fj-om infancy to the correct diet would he cling to it as soon as' lie had experienced a tasty, succulent meal in the house of one of his more luxurious neighbours? ' The Teeth and Disease., The Dental Association, Dr. Cox considered, should direct its effort? to obtaining compulsory dental . treatment. It was nlrnost heartrending, year after year, monotonously to point out to the public the insidious danger that the mass of the people were being constantly exposed to. \Vhen the statistics of the results of the examinations at present being made by the medical inspectors in the public schools were tabulated, it would be found that over ninety per cent, of the dentally-unattended-to children between the ages of six and fourteen had mouths in a septio condition. This septic condition of tho ' mouth" is slowly but surely affecting the 'strength and vitality of the present and 'future generations.' The remarkable ell'octs of a clean mouth upon the of infectious diseases was shown by some statistics obtained from 'an institution in Boston, U.S.A., where there were 350 poor children in residence. In this Boston institution, after all tho mouths were put into a clean condition and kept clean, the infectious diseases were reduced from 103 cases in 1907-1908 to two cases in 1911-1912. When the public" knew that the children with good teeth were at tho top of the, classes,' arid those with poor ones generally in the lower half, that the efficiency of thes3 children was improved by 15 to 20 per cent, by the change' of unhealthy mouths to clean ones, ttiey would still further appreciate the truth.

Scheme Outlined. : "From an administrative point of view, in luy opinion," added Dr. Cox, "tho only solution of the problem is to establish a system of State dentistry for the use of the pupils of tho primary schools of all denominations." In a small, cnm,r„ ;pact, and easily-controlled:'country, liko Neiv Zealand, with its system of central Government a.nd a people untrammelled by conservative thought, <\ scheme of universal State dentistry should l>e easily .applicable, j.'Chis scheino"; won 1 tlof 7 Hliei«i)pMntmeilt of-State dentists; toi l 'the purpose of establishing and carrying on , of school clinics, so tliut every child

from tho age of, say, six to fourteen years, would be compelled to have his or Jifr mouth in a perfectly hygienic condition: Tho State dentists would be divided into two classes: (1) Stationary dentists, who would be settled in the towns; ana (2) travelling dentists, whs would attend to the country schools. It had been

found in England that a stationary dentist, working 5J days a week, could thoroughly keep in order the mouths of nearly 3000 children per annum. In 1911 there |wsro present in the public schools (primary) about 115,000 children between Ine ages'of six and fourteen years. This .would necessitate about forty State dentists. In addition,to their salaries there would have to be considered tha initial cost of'setting up clinical rooms in tho various centres, and also tho current expenses for attendants, material, etc. The cost per anu uni ■ would be about Xl'o,ooo. The Annual Cost. The annual cost of keeping up the cdurational system was close upon a million pounds. Surely, if the efficiency of tho pupils could be raised 15 per cent, by taking theso hygienic measures, even apart from the uplifting of tho national standard of health, it was u sound proposition to spend per annum to produce this improvement? The idea of utilising the services of the dentists in each branch of the New Zealand Dental Association had so many drawbacks, anil would under the most favourable conditions be so inefficient, that lie had been forced ito the conclusion that only by some universal scheme organised by a centra! authority, that was, tho Government, would any complete and satisfactory results ensue. ' "I submit," saii Dr. Cox in concluding, "the urgent necessity for this, and foithe Government either to consider. and act upon a. comprehensive ■ report of our as.-.ociation, or to set up an inquiry or commission, with the ultimate view to tho bringing, down 'of a Bill to authorise, formulate, and direct tho whole working of the svstem. This would appear to ba tho most thorough and satisfactory courso to adopt." _