FIGHTING DENTAL DISEASE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 178, 27 July 1923, Page 7

FIGHTING DENTAL DISEASE.

URGENT AND GRAVE PROBLEM LARGE STAFF NEEDED. (By Telegraph. —Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Important proposals for the treatment and prevention of dental defects were made to the Hospital Board yesterday. The Director of Dental Hygiene, Dr. T. A. Hunter, wrote: "You know j the work I am engaged upon in building m> a dental service in an endeavour to cope with the treatment of school children, and you also are aware of the vaetness of the problem as dental disease is increasing to an alarming extent in this, as in other countries. "The more I go into the subject, the more I am convinced that combination between the Government and hospital boards in undertaking a campaign to j fight this disease is the rational method,! and the one most likely to prove success- j ful. Authorities are agreed that dental disease is not the simple matter that it is generally supposed to be, but one of the most urgent and gravest of our day. "While a few of the more up-to-date hospitals have a dental department, and are doing a certain amount of treatment of young children, the large majority are, practically speaking, doing nothing in this direction. To get full results from a political and economic point of view, a very large staff of workers will be necessary. To make this possible in reasonable time the Government is undertaking the training of such, not only to treat a considerable amount of i the disease, but to teach parente and [others simple methods by way of pre-' I venting the disease. "Our results, so far aR they go, are splendid and., while in the early stafres I there was opposition from a section of the I profession, you will have notived that at I the Dental Conference in Christchurch recently a resolution was passed evpressing complete confidence in the scheme. I am not suggesting that our present service will be restricted. I am sure we will have double the number of .nurses to train next year than we bad last yenr, I nml the present scheme will go forward, but. I consider the co-operation and coordination suggested would make for a more efficient and more rapid general attack on the enemy." i It was aPTeed that the board should meet Dr. Hunter on his next visit to