Teeth and Education.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 April 1910, Page 4

Teeth and Education.

* .y ♦ ' " CHILDREN WITH BAD TEETH POOR SCHOLARS. Concerning the report of Superintendent Maxwell of San Francisco, that three of every four children of the public schools who had been examined were suffering from some physical defect, Mr Leonard P. P. Ay res, -associate director of the department of child hygiene of the Russel Sage Foundation, has declared that one of the most serious aspects of the question was the waste of the public's money in the unfruitful effort to educate children suffering from these defects. "Take a single illustration, that of decayed teeth," said Mr Ayres. "The great English physician, Dr Osier, recently said more physical deterioration was caused bv bad teeth than by alcohol. The figures just published by Mr Maxwell show that among the 320,000 * children examined last year 184,000 were found to have defective teeth. "The investigation conducted by the department of child hygiene of the Sage Foundation shows that children having defective teeth take half a year longer to complete the elementary school course than do the 'ihildren having sound, teeth. "Jusit how much these children retarded it is impossible to determine, with absolute accuracy, but a very extensive a>nd careful examination carried on bv the department of child hygiene of the Sage Foundation, covering the complete physical and school .records of about eight thousand, brought to light some sisrniificant and important facts. It was found that children suffering from such defects as the school physicians record' progress through the course nine per cent slower than the children with no defects. "New York exepended on its enliools last year nearly 35,000,000 dollars. If three-fourths of the children are suffering from physical defects which cause them to make nine per cent slower progress than tliev would if the defects were removed. if. means that the city has spoilt 2,400,000 dollars a vear in n useless atempt to impart knowledge to pupils who are phvsieally incapacitated for receiving it."