CHILDREN’S TEETH

Otago Witness, Issue 3594, 30 January 1923, Page 22

CHILDREN’S TEETH

INFLUENCE OF SWEETS. CENTRAL OTAGO FACTS. Some interesting facts and observations bearing on the influence of the supply of pocket money and proximity to sweets stores on the state of school children’s teeth were conveyed in the couiße of a report presented to the Education Board yesterday by I>r R. J. R. Mecredy. The report covered a visit of inspection to Central Otago schools Dr Mecredy found that of 652 children attending 11 schools with stores in the near neighbourhood, 1.2 per cent, had perfect sets of teeth. These children had ajt average of 6.7 cavious or treated teeth per head. Of 242 children attending seven schools at some distance from a store (up to one mile) an average of 2 per cent, had perfect teeth and 5.9 cavious or treated teeth per head. There were 169 children attending eight schools remote from a store. Ihe average of iierfect teeth was 2.9 per cent., and the percentage per head of cavious or treated teeth was 3.4. The medical officer added: —“There is no doubt in my mind that there arc, under present conditions, two main factors which influence dental caries. The first is the proximity of the school to a store where sweets and biscuits may be bought. The second depends on the relative prosperity of the children attending the school. There are many cases of very poor children with remarkably good sets of teeth. A poor child has a far better chance of keeping a good set of teeth than a child of rich parents if other factors are equal. The factor of home feeding is practically constant. I doubt if 1 per cent, of the parents make any attempt to prevent dental caries by proper diet.” “In the case of 70 children of orchardists the average of cavious or treated teeth per head was 7.1 per cent. This would indicate that fruit eaten promiscuously without any definite relation to meals and without any other rearrangement of the diet has no particular value in the prevention of dental caries.” Another factor, however, was that the orchardists nr a class were more prosperous than the average run of the community, hence their children had more pocket money, with the apparently inevitable result of a lower standard of dental health. Most interesting comparisons are given of dental health in the same school as thought to be affected by the store. In one township mentioned 24 children do not pass through the town on their way to school. These had an average of 4.7 cavious or treated teeth per head. On tlio other hand, the 53 children either living in the town or passing through it daily had an incidence of 6 per cent, per head. Other ecvamples of a similar nature were given. GOITRE. Dealing with 'goitre, the report set out that schools in the ‘‘Middle Clutlia” area, in which 458 children were examined, had an average of 25.3 of visible goitre. This comprised all the schools between Lowburn and Alexandra. An interesting result arose from the goitre investigation. The main watershed of the Clutlia was apparently- goitrous throughout, but one of its tributaries —the Manuherikia—had no more goitre in its valley than was found in some of the Dunedin schools. In one school the doctor found 33.3 per cent, of visible goitre, and at the time at his disposal he had not ail opportunity to investigate any special reason there might be for this very high percentage.