'No Agony At Dentist'

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31439, 4 August 1967, Page 1

'No Agony At Dentist '

With the use of modern techniques and local anaesthetics there was no reason for a visit to the dentist to be painful, said a visiting United States dental expert, Professor G. E. Myers, of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry.

“I won’t say it is always a I pleasant experience, but it is , certainly not the terrifying ] thing it was once regarded as,” he said. In Australia and, from what he had heard, in New Zealand, some older people were inclined to feel trepidation. But he would not expect to find this among the younger age group, particularly those who had been introduced to dental treatment through the school dental service. Professor Myers is here at the invitation of the New Zealand Dental Association to deliver a series of lectures throughout the country. Yesterday he visited the training school for dental nurses in Christchurch and said a fine job was being done. The old idea that the sooner people had their teeth removed and replaced with a ' false set the better was out ' today, he said. He emphasised the importance of dental health in relation to general physical well being, and said there was no reason why most ' people today should not live a ' normal life span with their own teeth.

The dental profession could provide the service necessary for this, provided people made the necessary effort to preserve their teeth with the aid of these services. The difficulty was that people tended to seek treatment only when there was an emergency. Professor Myers is head of the crown and bridge department at his university’s school of dentistry. When a tooth was lost, a person should

look to early replacement because other teeth tended to crowd in on the space left, he said. A bridge could be provided to replace a tooth and this was both effective and permanent, he said. Gold was still favoured for a great deal of restorative work because it could be easily shaped, was durable and withstood the considerable pressure to which it was constantly subjected. But the gold-tooth smile is definitely out of favour today, according to the professor. When gold was used, it was usually covered with porcelain. There had been a steady

advance in dental techniques and materials, Professor Myers said. A new amalgam had been developed, as well as dental cements Which were not as irritating to the mouth. There had also been- significant development in impression material.

As well as regular dental treatment as a means of reducing decay; he mentioned avoiding a high intake of carbohydrates; A great deal of work' had been done to assess the benefits of fluoridating water supplies and the benefits had shown a reduction in dental decay. Professor Myers will be in New Zealand until August 19.