DENTAL TREATMENT FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 45, 17 November 1920, Page 7

DENTAL TREATMENT FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN

Sir,—l understand that a movement In. afoot to appoint a dental instructor at .C7OO per annum to train women in 18 \ months or so to treat school children's teeth, and that thi.s instructor and his assistants will be under tho direction of the Education Department. This is a movement in the interests of public health, and therefore, should ]>o directed by the Department whose business it is to look after public health, not the Education Department, the only reason for tho latter having control being tlint the children will be school children. I presume that the children •attending Catholic and oilier denominational schools will be treated in this instance tho same as those attending the State , schools. If they are not, then this Government is out to do them another injustice. though they will not hesitate in conscripting them, , if- it suits their pur-; . posa I am informed on good authority that dentists do not favour the idea of having women trained, as there is the dental school to be drawn upon, and lho_ • students thero have to take iv four years training course, which being the ease, it is certainly more in the public interest to employ* these students,with their longer trainiug, than women, with less than half of it. It would also be moro ill 'the public interest to pay this a year to the Dental School to help train better qualified inspectors than pay an instructor JC7OO a year to turn out half-baked assistants.—l am, «<£., , OBSERVER.