NEW DENTAL BRANCH

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2412, 18 March 1915, Page 7

NEW DENTAL BRANCH

1 AT PUBLIC HOSPITAL OPENED BY HON, R. H. RHODES Tho official opening of the new dental department of the Wellington Hospital took place yesterday afternoon, neing' performed by tho Minister of Public Health (the Hon. B. H. Rhodes) in tho presence of members of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, the Dental Association, Dr. Newman, M.P., and about thirty others. An apology for absence was received from the In-spector-General of Hospitals (Dr. Valiiitine), and tho Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke). The dental branch is in the building formerly used as the outpatients' department. The Rev. W. A. Evans, chairman of the Hospital Board, who presided, extended a hearty welcome t to the Minister of Public Health and the others present. Mr. Evans W6nt on to refer to the facts leading, up to the establishment of a dental branch, and paid a tribute to the long sesvice given by "Mr. H. Didsbury, honorary consulting dental surgeon to the Hospital. The necessity for a dental' branch, Mr. Evans pointed out, had beeii the subject of an exhaustive report by the then medical superintendent, Dr. Hardwick Smith. The report was adopted by the board, and ..they entered into negotiations with the Dental Association, to whom he extended the heartiest thanks for the work they had done in assisting tie project. In Mr. E. G. Bender, they felt that they had a capable officer at the head of the new department. The department was created in order! to meet a very urgent need, and ho" felt that 'they would do all they could, especially to help the children. It was not necessary that they should be well looked afte„\ Dr. Hardwick Smith said that the Dental Association for many, years past had desired to have some such scheme started and brought , to an accomplished fact. He felt :that the department could, as- well as curing, educate the public in tho prevention of disease. The department was one of the most, if not the most, important departments of the Hospital, for medical men realised that through the mouth came most diseases. He felt that th.i new work was going to be' a great boon to the City. ' _ .. 1 Dr. Knox Gilmer, president of the Dental Association, said that he felt certain > that thoy were taking a move in the right direction 'by starting a dental hospital. All the dentists were more than pleased that the branch had been started. There was no doubt of the importance of proper care of the teeth. _ ' At this stage'the chairman read a letter from Dr. Gilmer, enclosing a cheque for forty-two guineas, as a personal gift, in commemoration of the opening of the dental branch. (Applause.) This amount, with the Government subsidy, will enable the board to purchase the dontal chairs required. The Minister's Address. In formally declaring the dental wards open, the' Minister said that on more than one occasion persons who had re-visited New Zealand after a lapse of years had expressed their astonshment '.at the rapid development of cho country during their absence. 'It was recognised that in older countries matters wero inclined to move moro slowly, and their peoples had almost become accustomed to the long postponement of very necessary reforms, but such was not tho case with the people of this country, for no sooner did they recognise that reform was needed in certain direction than they acted upon it. _ Anyone visiting, the Wellington Hospital after an interval of,-say, five years, would indeed be astonished at : its development, • and, in, fact, he ..believed such a remark might' well apply to most of tho hospitals in the Dominion. The public,_ m their wisdom,,were every day making larger demands on hospital accommodation, and were insisting that such accommodation should be of the very best, and surrounded and furnished with all those niceties, of modern apparatus_ used by the profession in the diagnosis or the treatment of disease. ' Where Wellington Progressed. As to Wellington, there was first of all the Infectious- Diseases . Hospital, wbioh. had only sprung into existence during the last five years. He believed, that institution to be tho best of its kind in New Zealand, if hot in Australasia, and he was told it had thoroughly justified its existence by tha splendid, records of recoveries it had maintained since it had been possible to ■ separate cases of scarlet fever in. var.ying stages of the diseased Then, again, there was the Children's Hospital, which was so generously subscribed to" by tho people of Wellington, and which made a very splendid addition to the Hospital. Those who might remember the old Children's Hospital know how badly the present institution was needed, and they were now happy in knowing that in the existing Hospital the little sufferers could be treated with ;the very greatest comfort, associated'with the best treatment that modern science could give them. Of more'recent date was the bacteriological laboratory. It was indeed a wise move on''the part, of tho board when it decided to join with the Public Health Department in the'erection and maintenance of that very necessary adjunct' to modern treatment and research. How well the laboratory has borne out what was expected of it under the able management of Mr. Hurley, tho board woulfl bo the'first to .recognise—and there was no-doubt that although a great deal of good was emanating from that laboratory in connection with the treatment and diagnosis of, disease—tho science was, so to speak, in its infancy, and they might well look to very great' developments from researches in that important-branch of scicntino medicine.. An Influence for Cood. "But that day, they were more than immediately concerned with another great undertaking of the Hospital Board, showing how anxious its members were to do their , duty by the people of this city and district, and to furnish a department which would undoubtedly have a most excellont influence on tho health of the. community. He referred to the dental department, which it was his privilege to declare open. From the reports of the school inspectors, some 97 per cent, of New Zealand children suffered from carious teeth, and consequently were therefore liable to " various diseases of a septic nature, for, so they were advised, it was not only necessary to look after children's teeth to prevent them suffering from pain and distress, but to guard them against those septic diseases to, which ulcerated teeth will rendor them liable. . With the existence of this institution; there should bo >jio difficulty in children having their teeth properly attended to as soon as carics is recognised, and'he could not too strongly impress upon parents the need for bringing their children as early as possible to tho officers in charge or.this department. for it was wall recognised that the health of children was often so deteriorated by tho influences and poisons of bad teeth that their constitutions seldom recovered from tho insidious poison to which they were subjected in youth. To tho same oxtent it was important that adults should be most careful as regarded tho condition of their mouths. They, too, by means of carious teeth, were liablo to septic influences and subtle diseases which_ often disappeared on -the teeth being efficient.

ly filld or removed. ■ To peoplo of all sorts and conditions who wero not ablo to_ pay the ordinary dental fees, tho institution would be available.' Enhance Its Reputation. Concluding, Mr. Rhodes said: —"Itis now my great pleasure to declare these dental wards open. That thoy will be a benefit to the people of this city and district I have not the slightest doubt, and that as timo goes ou under the skilful guidance of the board this Hospital will bo further developed; and so maintain the reputation which it has as one of tho most efficiently managed institutions in tho Dominion." Ho pointed out that almost without exception the dentists in Wellington were giving their services free to tho institution, and he said all credit to tlieni., ' ' Mr. J. Smith, chairman of the Hospital .Committee, in moving a vote of thanks to tho Hon. R. H. Rhodes, said that he was very pleased at the kind words spoken by tho Minister, both' as regarded tho board and the dentists. Mr. C. _M. Luke, an' ex-chairman of the committeo, seconded the motion, I and spoke of some of the early troubles of the Hospital Board. .The motion was carried with I tion.