CARE OF THE TEETH.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 121, 14 July 1911, Page 8

CARE OF THE TEETH.

The annual conference of the New Zealand Dental Association, which opened in Wellington on Tuesday, was attended by delegates from all parts of New Zealand.. The object, of these conferences is to afford dental practitioners an opportunity of meeting to exchange views on matters oi technique and practice, hear papers read on special subjects of interest to the profession, and to witness clinical work by experts in different branches of dentistry. In view of the cat and increasing interest in the great and increasing interest in the care of the teeth as one of the most important factors in maintaining the health of the body,' the deliberations of the conference should be of especial interest. The conference was opened by the president (Mr A. Patoison, of Christchurch), who said : —• It is one of the most pleasant duties that lias fallen to my lot this year to extend to you all a hearty welcome to this our seventh annual conference, and hope that you will all find it interesting, profitable, and enjoyable to the fullest extent. I desire also at this time the privilege of expressing to the executive and to the many loyal members of one society my personal appreciation of their valued services in the work of the past year. Whatever ’.'.’o have clone to advance the profession by our allied efforts must rebound to the credit of those who by their untiring efforts have stood shoulder to shoulder in the work with me. My address on this occasion will be in throe sections—First, to the public; second, to the medical profession ; and third, to the dental profession. To the Public. As statistics prove that in civi.ised countries the number of school children suffering from defective teeth, number from 80 per cent to 98.5 per cent, I would impress upon the public the great, necessity 7 for keeping their children constantly 7 under the care of a reliable dentist. The public do not seem to recognise the advantages that will accrue to the child from this desirable course. They should be impressed with the fact that all children should he taken to a dentist when they 7 are three years old, and then every six months after. If people, have children and have the means it is their bounden duty to look after theii dental organs. If they 7 have net the means then it is the duty of the State to make the necessary 7 provisions in this respect for our future citizens. Parents as a rule are too prone to look upon dental hygiene as unnecessary 7, and to consider the services of a dentist as a luxury. A great deal has been said regarding the care of children’s teeth, but not until every dentist in the Dominion drums and drums this necessity into every mother’s ear y r car by year will it ever mature and bear the fruit it should. It is an appalling fact, but nevertheless true, that last year the manufacturers of artificial teeth sold over 60,000,000, and when wo think that every one of those wont to replace a natural tooth which, with proper care and attention, would have lasted a life-time, I think you will have to agree with me tlnH it is a crying disgrace, if not even criminal. Unclean mouths and teeth are mainly responsible for this. Now, the question arises, how are we to prevent this state of things? We need not look to the Government for any support, as ’they seem to he doing their best to flood the country 7 with incompetent men, and that class of men thinks only of the £ s d which ho can obtain for work which is tlic easiest and quickest, quite regardless of the welfare of his patients. Now, this is not the ravings of a disordered mind, but an absolute fact, and it is one of the things which prevents the public from having that high ideal of the dental profession that it deserves. Now, it. behoves us to take some stops to obtain tin’s desired end. Dental Wards. Quo of the first steps I would suggest is that dental wards should be established in every town where there is a public hospital. This can ho done at a very small expense, and once established would be more selfsupporting than any 7 medical ward, and would be of as much benefit tothe people as any medical w.r. I ; in fact, if they were establish*) 1 and properly managed, wo .voull bo able to do away with half the accommcdtion that is now needed in our public hospitals, as two-thirds of the diseased conditions arc caused by, or aggravated by, the condition of human mouths and teeth. I know it is a difficult task to try 7 and instil tin's fact into the minds of some of the members of our hospital boards, as they do not. seem to comprehend the importance of this matter which must eventually receive attention, as it has already done in the more progressive city of the north—Auckland. (a Christchurch we approached the Hospital Board and received at the initial stages every encouragement, and were invited to the hospital to inspect rooms, which wo found would suit our purpose admirably 7 , hut to our surprise, w« were told later that (he rooms coulJ not be spared as they were most useful in their present capacity, as box rooms, ore. As a matter of fact, we have not up to the present time received an official communication from the board intimating that the ward is, or is not available. On the contrary we wore told indirectly through an unethical dentist that the scheme was unworkable. So much for our public-spirited action. My second suggestion is Hint a pamphlet should he compiled by the X.Z.I).A. on the care of the mouth and teeth, and this should be thrown broadcast and given to every mother and to every teacher in the land, ami the latter should see that every child receives a proper course of teaching on the subject, and also actual alien-

linn.- Physiology is already taught, but what is tho use of knowing the functions of tiic mouth, without, the knowledge of the best means of cleaning the month for the pe’Tect discharge of those functions. It seems quite an assei lion to make, hut hotter that too child should know how to look after its oral cavity, which is' the gateway to almost every disease, than to even know its English granimer, for what is the use of its grammer wiien its I tody is continually in a state oi disease p 'Die brain of every child is inactive and unretentive to knowledge if suffering from diseased teeth as every school teacher can testify. Investigation has shown that bright children have better teeth than tho dull children. The chances of children with good teeth arc, therefore, .appreciably better for scholarships and promotion than are those of children with bad teeth. We are all aware that many diseases can be traced directly or indirectly to defective teeth. Among some of the diseases thus caused or specially aggravated arc—neuralgia, headaches, earaches, indigestion, heart trouble, en--1 irgcd glands, nose, throat, and eye trouble, nervous disorders, etc. Without good teeth there cannot bo thorough mastication, without mastication there canot be perfect digestion, withparfect digestion there cannot be proper assimilation, without proper assimilation there cannot be proper nutrition, without proper nutrition there cannot bo health, and without health, what is there iit life? My third suggestion is that our different local societies at intervals should select men to deliver lectures to the teachers of all our public schools, so that they could impart our knowledge in a more comprehensive way to the pupils. It is astonishing what little knowledge even the techers have on this most important subject. It seems somewhat incongruous that teachers should be supposed to give lectures on oral hygiene when they as a class have net 'had The opportunity to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge on the subject. It is just as difficult to teach an old dog new tricks now as ever it was, but. you can educate the rising generation to observe hygienic habits, to their lasting benefit, and I believe that years of patient plodding will convince the masses that a movement of this kind is mainly for their benefit. A Note cf Warning. This seems a suitable occasion for us to sound a note of warning to the public. As the more educated portions of the community avoid the unregistered medical quack with his patent ideas, his electric belts, his catarrh mixtures, and his cure-alls, so ought they to avoid the dental quack, with his cheap dentures, his painless dentistry, and his latest methods. Just as they would avoid a medical man who canvassed the countryside for patients,!) so should the people avoid file dentist, who, owing to lack of skill and recommendation from his patients, is forced; to canvass tho countryside for work. These men do not do the best for the public, and they know it; they are in denistry for the immediate monetary consideration and little else, as hundreds, even thousands, of the public already know to their hitter cost. There was a movement on foot a year or eighteen months ago for tho examination of the teeth of school children. This seems to have died a natural death, and . I would urge that it he again be gone on with, until every pupil in every public school in tho Dominion has been examined. When this has been completed it should be tabulatetd and sent to every member cf Parliament, and by that means endeavour to make our representatives see tho gravity of the situation, without which we shall have little hope cf getting dental wards established in our public hospitals. Surely there must be some way of combatting the groat evil' “oral sepsis.” It is apparent that educational work can best be accomplished through the children. Modern educational methods recognise that in order for a child to do efficient work bis physical makeup must be normal, and our people must remember that the health of our citizens is the greatest asset of our nation. 1 would again like to quote a paragraph from the “Lancet” in a strong pica for die better care of the tooth of English school children, which it says is a matter of first importance to the country. It declares that tooth-brush drill is of little value when carried out during school. To ho of use it must ho carried out at the proper times, the most important cf all being the last thing before retiring to bed. This medical authority thinks also that a well-or-ganised crusade throughout, the country on the importance of the teeth, and -technique of their proper care, would bo followed by an immense improvement in the health of tho nation, and from the point of view of tho combatant services, by an enormous decrease in the percentage of recruits rejected for defective tooth. During the South African wav there were 28,000 soldiers incapacitated through having defective tooth. It seems -to me scarcely necessary before a dental society to further call attention to the necessity for this class of work, and we assume that there is no doubt in the minds of the profession a.s to its most urgent need. At a morning session recently tho (■•• legates discussed general association business, and in tho afternoon a. number of papers wore read and dismissed. Clinics will be dealt with at tho morning session to-day, and the afternoon will again ho devoted to papers and discussions. It- is anticipated that the conference will conclude on Friday. The annual dinner of the Now Zealand Dental Association is to be hold at tho Grand Motel this evening. To-morrow evening visiting delegates are to bo entertained by tho members of the Wellington branch.