DEFECTIVE TEETH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 8 October 1917, Page 2

DEFECTIVE TEETH

POSITION OF NEW ZEALAND CHILDREN. SPEECH BY MEMBER FOR NELSON. Speaking in the House of Representatives the other dav the Member for Nelson (Mr T. A." H. Field) said he , could speak in the highest terms of the j work done and the attention paid to j the men at the Dentistry Hospital at : Featherston Camp, and also of the '; rummer in which the officer in charge / addressed each reinforcement as it came ; into camp on the importance of dental i treatment. With respect to the im- | portance of dental work in connection ! with our schools, a. little book has been published by the New Zealand Dental Association and the Bvitish Medical Association . This book stated th:V. : - "Work commenced on a class u'i children at the Marion /School, of t'ieveland. in the State of Ohio. The class numbered about thirty, and was recruited from: the worst children in the school ; that is to say. those selected were very poorly developed physically and mentally, and were in 'many cases exceptionally troublesome to their teachers on account of bad behaviour. On examination their teeth were found to be in a shocking condition, and they wire immediately put in order and proper mastication and personal cleanliness insisted upon. Within twelve months of the announcement of treatment the' improvement shown by the class (combining .conduct,, application, ability, morals, and physical condition) i was most remarkable". This statement:. ! is vouchee! for by' tfie" school authorities" mid other unprejudiced observers and has caused a great awakening in America." Mr Payne : It is commonsense, too. Mr T. A. H. Field said that was so. Germs were, the cause, directly or indirectly, of almost every disease. Anyone ' could see that it was little use spending money in -'endeavouring to pro- , vide pure food for children and vet allowing the food to be;" rendered impure at the moment of its entrance into the body bv contact with the poisonous, contents of uncared-for, unhealthv months full of decaying teeth. It wa« worth while noticing'the consumption of sugar per head in New Zealand to-day as"compared with other countries. J;n ■Groat Britain in l.RR3,.it was. 9.91 peacapita.- and in 1900 if was lb. The'amount issued to each soldier in" New Zealand in 1917 tfas 91.25, lb. .The consumption per capita' in. New ' "Zealand in 1915—the last return available' —was 129.25 lb. Thlc results] may be. seen, in the record of-, an examination'of the teeth of the-'child/en of the New- : town School made -in. November. 1915. There were P~-3 children examined; and the examination of the state of their mouths showed that the following work was required : -."Fillings -2.652 and extractions 2.546. There" were 297 children, suffering with malformation of teeth,, . and • 116 from discharging gum-boils. '■] No less than 230 children had suffered j the loss of their first permanent mol.-u-. ; •which, to use a technical' term, erupts j in the sixth year, arid'vv considered the. j most important tooth. The number of children who had received ' treatment prior to the examination was 107.' Gnly 27 children had teeth that_ required ho treatment. Tt was the opinion of those qualifier! to give an o'-onioii +V.H- H-,e treatment of school children shou'd begin in their sixth year, before disease had progressed. In the Scottish Education Act, 1913, when as the result of ' periodical inspection' a child is found in . need of medical, surgical, or treatment, nrovisipn is made to give .it such, and also sufficient and rrqnev food and, clothing. He hoped " "omething would be done in this direction. . i Any man who hn,s a love for New J Zealand win like New Zealand's;, tohac- J co—Gold Pouch Aromatic. .■.-Grown in Hawke's Bay district, it is all that per- i feet tobacco should be—hsf. a delightful flavour of its own, is cool, sweet and minus bite. Moreover, Gold Pouch contains a very low percentage of nicotine —only per cent—and is therefore harmless when compared with imported tobaccos ' with their 4 per cent and 5 per cent nicotine strength. Economical also. For a shilling you get a bisr bag- crammec 1 - full with, 2\ ozs of .Gold Pouch. Tiy it because it's New. Zealand grow;i and because 'tis the best you can try. Cigarette smokers. . Use New Zealand grown "Throe Diamonds" Tobacco.