The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1922. DENTAL TREATMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 May 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1922. DENTAL TREATMENT.

The President of the New Zealand Dental Association is certainly to be applauded for the views expressed in his address to the Conference on Monday. The great importance attaching to the constant care of our teeth from infancy onwards, and the imperative necessity of devoting proper attention to secure what Mr. Rishworth describes as “oral cleanliness,” were the two main points of an address that should be “read, marked, learned and inwardly digested” by every citizen of the Dominion. It is gratifying to find that the official head of the Dental' Association should take such a broad, patriotic and humane view of this vital question, also that he regards the institution of free clinics, and State treatment of school children, as a hygienic movement and an indication of the awakening that is taking place to prevent the ravages of caries (decay of the dentine or body of the tooth) in the Dominion. This view is all the more welcome by reason of the outcry that was raised by some members of the dental profession when the Government’s plan of training women to examine and, in a limited sense, attend to the teeth of school children was first promulgated. That Mr. Rishworth takes a serious view on the subject of oral soundness and cleanliness is evident from his statement that epidemics are being spread through the homes and the schools because proper attention to this highly necessary matter has not been given. It can readily be seen why he applauds the general health crusade which is being carried out by the Health Department “on broad and sane lines, with special attention to the need for oral cleanliness.” In this connection his message to the profession and the public is worthy of the closest attention and regard.

“If.” said the President, “we want to get rid of the degenerate and improve the unfit, we must aim at eradicating the focus of the disease, for, unquestionably, the mouth in a dirty and neglected state is responsible for a great deal of systemic disease. If the question is tackled it will help to a higher standard of personal fitness, and, from the national point of view, lessen the shocking loss of time at school and at work through the evils of neglected teeth.”

This aspect of the question raises its plane to one of national importance, instead of a matter of individual responsibility, while it fully justifies the action of the State with regard to the treatment of the teeth of school children, on the ground that the neglect of disease in children’s teeth frequently has a direct effect on the ills of adult life. Assuming, for the moment, that a child’s mouth has received every care and attention from babyhood to the time of the full and regular development of the permanent teeth, “so essential to the making of a healthy and well-balanced man or woman,” then comes the crucial period. Admittedly for a century or so there has been a marked decline in the preservation of permanent teeth, until it is becoming almost exceptional to find a person of middle age with a full set of natural teeth. Many reasons and causes have been assigned for this decadence, but now that matter is assuming an aspect or vital importance from a national viewpoint it would seem that the matter requires careful and tnorough rsssarek. jysbaWy. b?.

legislation. Great strides have been made in dental ethics and treatment, but there does not appear to be any adequate results, nor can such be expected until the State institutes and financially supports a comprehensive college of dentistry for research and practical work that will enable the public to receive advice, and, if necessary, free dental treatment. We quite appreciate the difficulty of the problem, and recognise the danger alluded to by Mr. Rishworth that such a service would be taken advantage of by persons able to pay dental fees. At the same time it is quite possible to adopt reasonable safeguards, and even if such a system were occasionally abused, that is no reason why the bulk of the population should suffer Tor the sins of the few. The need for sound teeth has become a matter of national concern, and as such should be provided for. If it is right for the State to institute treatment for the teeth, of school children whose parents cannot afford to pay dental fees, then it is equally a national duty that permanent teeth should be preserved or the mouth cleared in all cases of oral sepsis. It. may be taken for granted that nineteen-twentieths of the generality of the people can and would be willing to pay a moderate sum for dental treatment, but what seems to be needed is the establishment in every town of importance of a dental surgery, subsidised by the State, open on certain days, at fixed hours, and attended to by qualified dentists remunerated, by the Government or by a special rate. Mr. Rishworth must be regarded as the mouthpiece of the profession, and in the light of his admirable address it would appear there exists a whole-hearted desire on the part of the profession to tackle this dental trouble thoroughly and effectively. That being so it is not too much to expect that the Dental Association should take up the matter in a practical way, evolve a scheme, and submit it to the Government. Money spent in helping the nation to a higher standard of personal fitness can only be regarded as a good national investment, for healthy and well-balanced men and women constitute the best asset the State can have. The problem only requires to be tackled in the right way and it will solve itself.