H.—3l.

SECTION lII.—POLICY. The change in policy that was introduced at the commencement of the year previous to the one under review, whereby Dental Clinic Committees are required to contribute a stated amount to the Department each year towards the expenses of the Service, has continued to operate during the past year. It took some time for Committees to adapt themselves to the new conditions, but, on the whole, the system of finance is now operating smoothly. The majority of Committees have exercised their power to levy a charge on individual parents, but in a number of cases Committees prefer to raise the necessary funds by other means, believing that the making of a direct charge would not be successful in their particular district. Most Committees seem to experience difficulty in raising the funds required, and at practically every centre there has been a drop in the number of children under treatment. This drop, however, cannot be attributed wholly to the charge, although this is undoubtedly a contributing factor. The raising of the school age from five to six has had a marked effect in this direction. The falling-off in numbers has been made good by linking up fresh schools with existing clinics. Many of these schools have waited for several years for treatment, and have welcomed the opportunity to be included. Thus the number of children under systematic treatment has been fully maintained during the year, and, in fact, even increased, as the statistics show. This policy of local extension has necessitated the establishing of a certain number of sub-bases. In every case the Committees concerned have provided the necessary accommodation without any cost to the Department. The same applies to clinics that have been erected at newly established main-treatment centres. In this connection it may be mentioned that the clinic at Dannevirke has been replaced by a modern brick structure, and this was done entirely at the expense of the local Committee. It is more than likely that during the next few years, as the parents become used to the system of charging, the numbers will gradually recover at the centres where they have fallen. Allowance will have to be made for this in calculating staff requirements for the future. The total amount paid to the Department by Dental Clinic Committees during the year was £4,674 6s. Id. In addition to their direct contributions to the Department, Committees pay certain local expenses in connection with the clinics, and these are approximately equal to the sum paid to the Department. The total contribution of local Committees towards the cost of maintaining the School Dental Service for the year under review is therefore in the region of £9,000. It is pleasing to be able to refer to the very cordial relations that exist between the Dental Clinic Committees and the Department. Such friendly co-operation and understanding go far towards ensuring the successful operation of the Service, and undoubtedly the measure of success attained in a district depends largely on bhe local Committee. SECTION IV.—WELLINGTON DENTAL CLINIC. The Superintendent of the Wellington Dental Clinic, Mr. J. B. Bibby, reports as follows :— Attendances at the Wellington Clinic and operations performed for the year ending 31st March, L 933, are as follows, 1931-32 figures being shown in parentheses : — Attendances. Fillings. Extractions. Other Operations 49,922 31,539 3,046 27,546 (46,488) (30,551) (2,881) (24,497) The total number of attendances and of operations performed since the opening of the Wellington Clinic to 31st March, 1933, are : Attendances, 334,330 ; fillings, 221,680 ; extractions, 61,877 ; other operations, 175,898. It is to be noted that the relative number of extractions to fillings continues to remain low, although the 1932-33 figures are slightly higher than those of the previous year, the figures for the year under review being one extraction per 10-4 fillings, and for the previous year one extraction per 10-6 fillings. The following table shows the steady reduction that has taken place in the number of teeth extracted as compared with the number of teeth saved by fillings at the Wellington Clinic :—

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Killings. Extractions. Ratio: Extractions per 100 Fillings. 1921-22 727 1,738 239-1 1922-23 9,223 11,093 120-2 1923-24 6,714 4,239 63-1 1924-25 5,136 2,994 58-2 1925-26 .. 12,323 7,003 56-8 1926-27 19,896 8,499 42-7 1927-28 22,670 7,846 34-6 1928-29 |(),783 5,712 28-9 1929-30 25,933 3,117 12-0 1930-31 .. 38,185 3,708 9-7 1931-32 .. ! 30,551 2,881 9-7 1932-33 31,539 3,046 9-7