DENTAL BENEFITS.

Shannon News, 9 October 1925, Page 3

DENTAL BENEFITS.

EFFORT TO EXTEND SCHEME. A further meeting was held in Levin on Tuesday of School Committee delegates to endeavour to extend tite scheme of dental attention in vogue in Levin to all schools on the coast, invitations had been sent to fourteen committbes. There were pieseni I {ev. J. D. McArthur, (chairman), anu .Messrs Uoe, Foss and Kerslake (L.e\j.n), S. itoiston (Poroutawhao), J. G. Maclean (Paraparaumu), S. A. Broaubelt (Koputaroa), and Kemsley and Brown (Waikanae). An apology was received from the Foxton Committee. , The chairman regretted that the larger schools at Utaki and Shannon wore not represented. He outlined what had been done, and said the previous meeting hau -been cd with a view of allowing the committees taking an interest in the matter tO' ascertain whether their local dentists would come into the scheme on the same footing as the Levin dentists, namely, the dentists taking the onus of tile dental fitness of the children on paymept of £1 per year per child. It did not appear that they were much further forward nqjv. FREE GOVERNMENT CLINIC FAVOURED.

Mr McLean said that at Hie present time there was a tree dental clinic in Wellington provided by the Government and some of toe parents m me southern area weie nnuncu to our that, though in his own view there was 'no comparison between the skilled’ service provided by .the Levitt ’Scheme and the attention by nurses with comparatively little experience in Wellington. Kirtlier, parents had to go with their children to Wellington and often wait, a long time for attention so that the cost in the end was much greater than Ilie service given by Mr Mackenzie at the school.. He paid a tribute. to the value of Mr Mackenzie’s work in the past at Paraparaumu, but said in spite of all that the people had the feeling that while there was a free clinic in Wellington d should be free in the country. He understood, that Otaki w T as holding aloof from this scheme for the same reason. They thought they would get a free clinic there.

CLINIC ONLY FOR PRIMERS. Mr Roe quoted the reply given by the Minister for Health in Parliament, namely, “that it is impossible to make immediate provision lor hit treatment of every child up to anu including Standard 11, though it is hoped in time as the service is extended to do this. ... It is to be remembered that the service is j-ct only in its initial stages and that it wilt he a considerable time hefoi e a stall sufficient to cape with the tremendous amount at treatment required can be built up. . . and until the number of these in the field can be very largely increased it will he necessary to restrict treatment, as at present, “to children who are in the primer class when .first registered at the clinic.” Mr Roe pointed out that the Horowheima scheme accepted children 'up to the age oi nine years, and thereafter kept them on the register /through the 'high school. “It would be seen that a long time would elapse before free dental clinics would reach the country. Mr Maclean said Paraparaumu had got a similar reply as regards their district. Mr Roe said that when the Levin deputation waited on the Minister to ask for a subsidy, the Minister, on learning what service was given for £1 a year, asked the opinion of the Director of Dental Hygiene, who replied that if children could he attend ed to for £1 a year in Levin it was far betler than the Government could do. The Minister granted a subsidy of £SO which was used to reduce rates to families. WAIKANAE’S STRONG SUPPORT.

Mr Brown said the Waikunae delegates were present to- give tl'iei.r hearty support to the scheme as from experience they knew it to he a splendid one. Of course 'when a man with a large family was faced with, having to give a week and ahall's wages for dental treatment, he oiten felt he could get along without it, little though the individual charge' was. The idea of a free clinic \\ as tin- stumbling block but they could nut get the use of it. c.r Keiusley said he had nut ’he least hesitation in saying that this denial scheme was the linest tiling that ever happened to the children in his neighbourhood. A good dental outfit was the finest endowment a patent could start his children out with. "Five pounds for five children seemed a lot of money, but many people spent more than that on less worthy objects. The something-! otnothing idea, however, took a lot oi dispelling. He felt that the Go\einment should have no. difficulty in subsidising the scheme to the amount that it was relieving the State fund. Mr Broadbelt said his committee and headmaster was quite in favour of the scheme hut the difficulty was to get the parents interested. K would be placed before the Roputaroa parents almost immediately and he would then tie able to tell the conference the attitude they took up. Personally he would do all he could to help it along and considered the amount Involved money well spent Mr Foss emphasised five points, the advantage, of a district association in being able to transfer children from one school register to another, the

stronger position in going to the Government for a subsidy, the dentist accepting the onus of the children's dental fitness, the fact that the service was continued at the same rate up to the age when a scholar left the High School and the superiority of llie treatment by experienced dentists over that given in free clinics by nurses with a few 7 months’ intensive training. Mr Maclean said he had not known before that a Government subsidy had been obtained and used to reduce fees to families. REFERRED TO COMMITTEES AGAIN. The chairman said he was loth to lot ihe larger scheme drop, but absence of the larger schools seemed to point to that being the final result, as they had now 7 had four meetings. without finality. The work in Levin w r ould go on in any case, so that- Levin was not interested in its extension beyond a desire to see other schools enjoy the benefits it was receiving. Mr Mackenzie had informed him that the amending legislation of . this session would enable him to carry on on the old lines for another year and under these circumstances a minimum of thirty scholars from a school like Foxton would be sufficient to include them in the scheme. It was now a question of deciding wdiat should be done.

Mr Kerslake said it was time finality was reached. It seemed impossible to have all schools represented at a meeting, and in view of the altered circumstances he would recommend that it be ascertained from Mr Mackenzie what was the minimum number of members that would be required from each school to enable the work to go, on on a district-wide basis, that each committee be then written to, outlining the scheme, and inviting them either (1) to make an arrangement with a local dentist on the same lines as the Levin scheme, or (2,) to endeavour to secure the minimum number of members required for inclusion in a Horowhenua schenfe. If neither of these suggestions were ( acceptaible ■to the committees it would still be open for private arrangements to be made as at present by several of the schools outside Levin. If either of the first two suggestions were adopted they would have an organisation which would grow as its benefits became known and on behalf of which the Horowhenua Dental Association, as already formed could go to the Government and ask with every confidence for a commensurate subsidy. The meeting accepted this proposal and the chairman and secretarv were authorised to put it into effect.

FEES IN ADVANCE. Mr Maclean said one difficulty in trie south was that it. was understood that the headmasters were to be responsible for the collection of the fees. This was not a fair proposition as teachers had enough to do- already. The proper course was for ihe fees to bd paid in advance. Mr Kerslake said that no such condition was made, but in Levin the Headmaster had undertaken to receive the fees and had carried out that duty on account, of his enthusiasm for the scheme and Ms conviction of the benefits it conferred on the children who were on the roll. The meeting then closed after the visiting delegates had thanked the Levin School Committee for their interest in the matter.