DENTAL SERVICE IN FORMOSA

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29744, 10 February 1962, Page 14

DENTAL SERVICE IN FORMOSA

NX System Studied

It is possible that a school dental service modelled on the New Zealand pattern w’ill be established in Formosa in the not too distant future, said Dr. M. Y. Pu, of the Kaohsiung city health centre, in Christchurch last evening. Dr. Pu, who has spent four Weeks in the Dominion, has made a particular study of the New Zealand system and of the way in which school dental nurses are trained. His observations, he said, would greatly assist him in planning for a similar system when he returns home.

Asked about the standard of dental health in Formosa. Dr. Pu said it was generally about half that of the Dominion. His country was trying to get the fluorine content of the municipal water supply up to the same level as in Western countries. This level is, on average, in the Western countries worked out at one part per million, he said. Formosa hoped to get the same results by adding half a part per million to the water. Already extra fluorine intake was provided by the large amount of fish and sea food eaten by the people, he said. D». Pu said he was greatly in favour of the fluoridation system as it was the easiest method to apply to a large number of people, and after application it helped reduce the amount of operative work done in clinics. Trained in dentistry in Tokyo, Dr. Pu speaks fluent Japanese. Before coming to New Zealand he spent 10 months at the University of Sydney where he studied in order to gain his diploma of public health in dentistry. Most of his time in the Dominion had been spent in the North Island, at Wellington and Auckland, and he had been shown something of the fluoridation system at Hastings, said Dr. Pu. For the last two days in Christchurch he has been looking at the final examination papers of the 1962 graduating class of school dental nurses.

Dr. Pu will leave for Australia today. On his way home he will visit Singapore to observe tihe newly established school dental service where one of the two tutor sisters is Sister M. Brooker, of Hawarden.

Russian Radio Jamming.— In spite of recent exchanges on widening communications, Russia still is jamming many 8.8. C. Russian broadcasts, a 8.8. C. spokesman said today—(London, Feb. 8.)