The Dominion THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1924. THE DENTAL SCHOOL

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 151, 20 March 1924, Page 6

The Dominion THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1924. THE DENTAL SCHOOL

The situation which has developed in connection with the Dental School at Otago University is of such general concern and importance that it may be hoped the Government will tako immediate action to put matters on a better footing. It is admitted that the present accommodation and the equipment at the school are wholly inadequate. The work of the school and Hie training of students has been seriously handicapped for some time past owing to these deficiencies; yet from one cause or another the measures required to bring about the necessary improvements have been repeatedly shelved. At the meeting of the Otago University Council on Tuesday last matters reached a crisis. Dr. Pickerill, head of the Dental School, in a strongly-worded letter to the council, intimated that under present conditions it was obviously impossible to do justice to cither students or patients, and that he could no longer retain both his present position and his self-respect. It is not customary for the head of an important branch of University education to make use of such terms as were employed, by Dr. Pickerill without careful thought and without fully weighing their effect, and it may safely be assumed that his action was prompted only by a high sense of duty. This view is strengthened by the gieat weight of opinion amongst members of the dental profession generally, who, we understand, entirely endorse Dr. Pickerill s views as to the inadequacy of the provision made for the training of dental students. It is most unfortunate that the urgency of the claims of the Dunedin Dental School should have been to some extent obscured by an agitation from Auckland to have a dental school established there. The only possible excuse for the establishment of a second dental school at the present time is the failure to provide adequate accommodation and equipment at the Dunedin school. A properly housed and equipped school at Dunedin is much better fitted to meet the needs of New Zealand for some time to come than two separate schools such as an Auckland group is agitating for. The immediate question is one of finance. To provide the accommodation required it is necessary to erect a now school building at a cost of some £25,000, and the additional equipment needed will absorb another £13,000. The Government, in conformity with its policy of economy, has shown an inclination to whittle this sum down, and as stated the raising of the question of a second school at Auckland has served to delay a definite decision. Further delay cannot now be justified. It is unnecessary at this stage to stress the importance of dental treatment in its bearing on the health and well-being of the whole community. This is now so generally recognised that it would be- superfluous to dwell unduly upon it. In New Zealand we-are fortunate in having a very high standard of dental practice, and it is imperative that that standard should be maintained or, wherever possible, raised. It is false economy, therefore, to conserve expenditure on the Dunedin Dental School at the expense of the training of the students who are to bo the future practitioners of the Dominion. Finance is an important matter just now, and no doubt the Finance Minister is 'justified in closely scanning every penny of public expenditure. But it would not be justifiable to save money at the expense of the public welfare; and that is what it. would mean to further delay making adequate provision for the training of dental students at the Otago school.