DENTAL DECAY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 October 1940, Page 4

DENTAL DECAY

ALMOST AS PREVALENT AS COLDS. APPRECIATION OF POSITION DESIRABLE. “Dental caries or decayed teeth are more prevalent than any other ailment except the common cold, the United States Public Health Service announced following a survey of a typical town not far from Washington, D.C.,” states the “Science News Letter.” “At the age of 15 years, 19 out of every 20 persons have or have had decayed teeth. The figure may be even higher among adults but the survey / was limited to school children. ' “There is as yet no scientific answer,. the Federal Health Service states, to 4 the questions ‘Why do teeth decay?’'* and ‘How can one prevent their decay?’ , jiAij “For the present at least the best that can be done is to feed the expectant mother, the infant and the child tooth-building foods and to visit the dentist early and often for the control of the extension of dental decay.” In view of the position which is sta- , ted to exist in Masterton concerning dental decay and the apparent lack of interest existing in the past in the affairs of the Masterton Dental Clinic a public meeting is being convened by Mr J. W. T. Jones with a view to obtaining a wide representation on the new committee. Mr Jones, who is headmaster of the Lansdowne School and secretary of the Masterton Headteachers’ Association will be pleased to supply any information required on the subject. The meeting will be held in the Y.M.C.A. rooms on October 14.