PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY

Shannon News, 5 September 1922, Page 3

PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY

FINE RESULTS OBTAINED IN HOROWHENUA.

A great deal is being written and said in the cities about the shocking condition of New • Zealanders’ teeth and the'effect upon the national physique. It is to be doubted whether much advance: is being made in practical betterment, except in the general benefits that must accrue from such a vigorous and sustained campaign, for instance, as that carried on by the Government Director of Dental Health, and the frequent public statements oi experts.. It is safe to say Ijhat few, il any parts of the Dominion have such a record of practical achievement as that which has been carried on under Mr D. S, Mackenzie’s scheme during the past three years in the I-lorowhe-nua County. A 'News representative who enquired as to the progress ' tjhe movement was making elicited one or two striking facts. Starting some three years ago with 150 children receiving treatment on this coast, tlie number has now grown to 500, practically all the schools in the district 1 being represented. So far as is i known, not one child lias lost a per-< manent tooth tin that period after ha- J

ving had iis leeth put in order. The j condition of the children’s mouths, as f the result of following a few simple rules impressed on them, is-on The j whole vastly improved. .Mr Markeri-1 zie is convince!! that it is possible to provide a service in this County that will tend to raise tiie standard of the rising generation’s teeth enormously. There is no reason, financial or otfier-

wise, why children attending the 1 schools on this coast should not have ! tolerably sound teeth, and therefore |

healthy mouths and unimpaired general health. All that, is necessary is regularity in cleaning tilie. teeth and a little quite bearable treatment—provided the latter is carried out at the right

time. This provision is the essence of the scheme under notice. It is necessary that the child should first receive attention at the. age of six when the permanent teeth-first make their appearance .Dental decay is tjlius ar- - rested in its early stages and regular 1 inspections thereafter keep it in check

and eliminate the necessity of overtaking long overdue arrears of attention at heavy expense. As in medicine, so | in dentistry, the hope of the future j lies in prevention rather than repairing the damage alter it is done. j Questioned as to whether his scheme j was self-supporting, Mr Mackenzie i said he: had not gone very deeply into- j that aspect of the matter. He had first j taken the question up because he con- j sidered the dental profession owed a ■ duty to the community to give it the , best service it was capable oi, and to combat the ravages of dental decay m j a maimer creditable to the profession j

and beneficial to the greatest number j in the community. He. would not deny, j however, that Hie problem had now j resolved itself into an economic rather |

than a professional one, and the read- 1 er will see tjhat at the fee charged of j £1 per child per year, after allowances j are made for fees uncoilectable, there ; is not. an excessive amount, even with ; 500 names on the list, out of which to j pay a professional salary, travelling j expenses over such a widespread . County as Horowhenua, and provide ; material and facilities. Parents with ! vivid recollections of the cost of their ' own and their families dental bills j will appreciate the modesty of the charge of £1 per year. There are ways, [however, in which assistance might . be given to the scheme, though the ! originator of it puts forward no plea ■ or claim for such aid. The educational authorities, for instance might do something towards the collection of the fees and the provision in all schools of facilities for examination ancl treatment. This latter would be | an especial boon in country centres remote from dental surgeries. Part of the Government’s policy for improving dental conditions is tjhe training of young women to act as nurses and the first quota, of thirty will have completed their training at the end of the year. If one of these trained operators were stationed in this County her services would be of very great assistance in furthering the cause of dental health and where so sound a basis has been established by private initiative and enthusiasm it should not be too much to expect this measure of State co-operation. These are considerations, however, that only lead up to the main objective of this article, which is to direct the attention of parents still outside the scheme to its benefits. Ihe charge is practically a nominal one—something in the nature of an insurance against dental decay and all tihe ills it brings in its train. In the individual interests of our children no less than .as a step towards the physical betterment of the nation, it is surely worth some sacrifice to give the men and women of to-morrow 1 a fair dentally on ■ their way through life.