SOLDIERS' TEETH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 457, 28 July 1915, Page 5

SOLDIERS' TEETH.

RECRUITS' DENTAL TROUBLES. HOSPITAL BOARD'S ATTITUDE. At the monthly meeting of the North Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, held to-day, the Hospital Committee reported as follows: — "Since the outbreak of war, the Dental Department has been kept very busy attending to the dental troubles of recruits, many of whom gave orders on their pay to reimburse the board the cost of having the necessary dentures made. These orders were sent to the Defence Department from month to month. The amounts paid were so small that the attention of the Minister of Defence was called to the matter, and Ife has written stating that his department cannot undertake the collection of such debts. Since this communication, no orders have been taken on recruits' pay, but the men have generally been able to make satisfactory arrangements for paying the small amounts charged. "The Minister also states that he is unable to approve the suggestion made by the board that his department should pay for the salary of an extra dentist at the hospital, whose appointment had become necessary owing to the large amount of work done for the recruits." It was explained that the amounts which the Defence Department declined to pay on orders from the soldiers totalled £lls. Officers in the Defence Department had made the original suggestion that men should give orders on their pay. Two or three members of the board, who subsequently admitted that they had not quite grasped the position, attacked the Hospital Committee's attitude in the matter, and urged that recruits should receive dental treatment free of charge. The chairman of the committee explained that in every case the circumstances of the men were taken into account. The work was done at cost price, and none of the men made any difficulty about paying some of the fees, if they could not afford to pay the full amount. When a recruit was unable to pay anything at all, he was still, given proper treatment. It was also pointed out that the committee had no guarantee that any men so treated would be accepted for service with the forces. When the members who had attacked the committee were assured ihat the committee treated every case on its merits, and that the recruits received full consideration, they withdrew their opposition, and the report was adopted.