TE KUITI DENTAL CLINIC

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVI, Issue 3450, 26 November 1932, Page 5

TE KUITI DENTAL CLINIC

(Contributed by "Eugenics.") I was recently a privileged visitor at the local clinic on the occasion of a periodical visit of inspection by Mr. R. D. Elliott, Senior Inspector of the Department of Dental Hygiene. • A group of about a dozen children were chosen at random, ranging in age from 6 to 10, and from the primers to Standard 4. The inspector quickly gained the confidence of the children with a little talk on dental hygiene. It was evident from the intelligent replies given by the children to the inspector's questions that most if not all of them had received instruction in the care of the teeth. "How can we best help the nurse?" asked Mr. Elliott. "By keeping our teeth clean," came the reply. "How often should we clean our teeth?" said the inspector. "Every day and every night," piped one small boy. "Better still, after every meal," said the inspector, but always before going to bed, because it is at night when children are asleep that the germs do their work." Following this little talk, each child was examined by the inspector, the card checked, and helpful advice tendered for future treatment. It was particularly obvious that not one child showed the slightest trace of nervousness or fear on stepping into the dental chair. Tactful handling and frequent appearances have evidently driven away the inherent fear even adults have of entering a dentist's chair. Generally, the children's teeth were in excellent condition in some cases quite a lot of work had been carried out which would entail considerable expense by parents if the clinic were not available at such small cost, and yet there are, I am told, quite a large number of parents who have not taken the trouble to enrol their children. Such a visit as I was privileged to make would quickly dispel any doubts as to the efficiency of the service and the wisdom of using it to full advantage.