Came the dawn.

Compilation of short filmed sequences by George Cunningham (1852-1919), 'Father of preventive dentistry in England', through whose influence the first school dental clinic was opened in Cambridge in 1907. The first sequence shows a dentist treating a young girl in the chair; when her check-up is completed another young girl comes in to take her place. A dental nurse shows us a selection of rather large toothbrushes. Two Edwardian mothers chatting with their babies on their laps; the one on the right is breastfeeding. Intertitle informs us that 4 out of every 5 army recruits are rejected because of bad teeth; the next sequence shows a recruitment sending away four hopeful recruits because of bad teeth. A fifth man gives a gleaming smile to camera and is allowed in while the rejected four come to hammer on the gate in protest. A Scottish soldier and an army officer compare teeth with a civilian, all three laughing at his apparently 'bad' mouth. A sequence illustrating the Children's Dental League shows young girls and boys sitting around a blackboard and giggling while a girl reads from a book. A man brings over a small automaton figure playing a banjo for them to look at. Cambridge Boy Scouts and their master are given chew sticks by a dentist. Finally we see Cunningham himself with children at a Stockholm school 'Toothbrush Club'. A teacher hands out toothbrushes to the grinning members.