DENTAL CLINIC FOR MILTON

Evening Star, Issue 20048, 13 December 1928, Page 2

DENTAL CLINIC FOR MILTON

[From Oob Correspondent.] The secretary of the Tokomairiro Dental Clinic forwarded a letter to the Milton Borough Council on this matter, and also appeared in person to advocate his plea on behalf of the forward move in the Milton district. Ho said it was of vital interest to the ratepayers to know that the Health Department had at last agreed to provide a nurse for a dental clinic at Milton. Tho district was to bo congratulated on being afforded this chance, as there were only seven new clinics to be built in the South Island during the coming year. At the present time there wore 250 applications for clinics, and during the next two years only eighty nurses could qualify for service.

To embrace tho chance thus offered, Milton must at once guarantee to produce a third of the cost of the necessary building, which would amount to about £IOO As soon as a cheque for this amount was in the hands of the board, tenders would bo called for the erection of the building, and the clinic made ready for work in March, 1929. If the district could not undertake to allow the nurse to start work in March, it forfeited its turn, and would have to wait at least two years. At the present time there were fifty-seven clinics in New Zealand, treating 40,000 children. These clinics had been at work only seven years. As there were 300,000 primary school children "in New Zealand it would be apparent that much yet remained to be clone. A visit to any school in this district would reveal about 90 per cent, of the mouths to bo faulty. Under the clinic system such a visit would discover , 100 per cent of clean, well-treated mouths. The health value from such a system must be tremendous. A nurse could treat an average of 300 new pupils annually, and when the work had been under way for about four years, she could handle as many as 800 children a year The clinic authorities claimed that the average cost of the initial treatment to a primary school child, if done by the local dentist, was £7. Districts favoured with a dental clinic were assured of expert dental service free, which meant a return to tho district in service, of thousands of pounds. It is proposed that the new clinic should embrace the district lying between Lovell’s Flat and Henley. Each school that joins up will support a proportionate share of the annual running cost, which amounts to about £3O. The problem of the Dental Clinic Committee at the moment is the immediate necessity of raising £IOO to cover the initial expenditure cs> the building. It is proposed to erect a B type of clinic, which means a permanent building in the school grounds. The Education Board has granted a piece of land for that purpose, also giving the services of the board’s architect. The.local tradesmen have taken up the matter, and the . necessary £IOO is guaranteed. • The members' 1 of the council ’viewed the request for assistance favourably, and donated £°A.