STATE DENTISTRY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 203, 22 May 1920, Page 6

STATE DENTISTRY

APPEAL!-OR ACTIVE PROPAGANDA,

State dentistry was the subject of & speech delivered by Mr. Richmond Dunn,, of Waiiganui, beiore the Dentists' Conference, tills week. • That State dentistry was an accomplished fact was a source of great satisfaction to the profession, because it had. long since been apparent that only some vast organisation, such as could "be carried ou by th'o State alone, was the only tiling that could in auy way cope with an evil that threateued to 'destroy the. race if it was not dealt with in an oflicient manner. ;, Mr. Dunn proceeded to say .that the terrible stale of the dental organs of the whole people had been for "many years a hideous nightmare to all dentists, but now that the attention of the State had been directed to the matter there was a reasonable certainty of Hhe fevil' being (largely mitigated, for the present generation. The present task was, however, a. small one compared with the problem of preventing other generations from suffering the dental disabilities of the present one. In the iirat place, they had to overcome a very strong bias in favour of pathological methods as against natural physiological methods. -In this connection he pointed-, to the fact that the public eschewed their natural teeth in favour of artificial sets, the former being regarded as inconvenient and pain-giving. "Have we ever tried," he added, "to estimate the very lav«o proportion' of the population thai haven't a natural tooth in their heads '. Should- we estimate it at much less than n. quarter of a million?" He emphasised a plea for very thorough and active propaganda to enlighten the public on the matter. It was the women to whom we : Wl look, and the women of the next generation must first be properly educated in theso matters if the propaganda was to have even a measure of success. In concluding, Mr. Dunn paid a.tribute to Dr. Cox, whom he described; as the putative father of State dentistry in New Zealand." " • The conference instructed the incoming, 'executive to set up a ffleCt committeo to 'investigate and report on the causes and prevention of dental disease, with a view to making'some ex cathedra announcement to the public on the whole •matter.- • ', ■