Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia.

  • South Australia. Department of Public Health.
Date:
[1963]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Department of Public Health and the Central Board of Health / South Australia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/32 (page 18)
    Following attendance at the Clinic, patients are either referred to family doctors, specialists or hospitals; or discharged as having no significant hearing loss, or requested to return for further testing before final assessment. TABLE 12—DISPOSAL New Cases Retests Referred to family doctor. 482 Referred to family doctors. 256 Referred to specialists or hospitals .... 116 Referred to specialists or hospitals .... 96 Returning for further testing. 243 Returning for further testing. 244 Discharged . 327 Discharged . 185 DENTAL SECTION The year began with eleven dentists on strength but this number was reduced to ten on the resignation of Mr. Wan who was not replaced until early in July. Our services were then continued in the Ceduna area by Mr. Yong. Areas treated, or part treated, during the year were those centred upon— Ceduna Riverton Wudinna Kingscote Kimba Yankalilla Leigh Creek Lucindale Booleroo Centre Pinnaroo Schools treated in 1962 were treated again in 1963 with the exception of some schools in Booleroo Centre, Riverton, Kingscote and Pinnaroo areas. Work in the Cambrai areas was discontinued when a private practitioner began practice in Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant. Eleven schools in the Booleroo Centre area remained untreated because of a change in the Dental Officer assigned to the area. Four schools in the Riverton area remained untreated because of increases in the number of children in the schools treated and an unusual turnover in children in Jamestown Primary School. Kingscote and Pinnaroo areas have two large schools in each. This arrange¬ ment has precluded the possibility of finishing more than one school in a year, hence each school has been treated at two-yearly intervals. This situation can be expected to improve as the backlag of work is overtaken in these areas. The number of students in training at the Dental School was increased from 12 to 14. Summary of Work for the Year In Country Schools— Children examined. 9,471 Children offered treatment . 5,325 Children accepting treatment . 4,157 Fillings inserted.19,972 Extractions. 3,240 Other treatments. 5,822 Number of visits for treatment.14,953 Number of schools visited. 71 The overall treatment acceptance figure dropped from 83-1 per cent to 78T per cent due almost entirely to a a drop in one area. Average treatments required overall were— Fillings. 4-8 per child Extractions. 0-8 per child Other . 1-4 per child Average fillings per child increased from 3-8 to 4-8 per child when compared with 1962 figures. The filling : extraction ratio rose from 5-8 : 1 in 1962 to 6 : 1 in 1963. In Children's Welfare Institutions—Work was continued in Children’s Welfare Institutions during school holidays when emphasis was placed on treatment of conditions requiring prompt attention rather than a complete treatment for individual patients. Fillings inserted. 701 Extractions. 180 Other treatments. 194 Number of institutions visited . 6 Surveys—The dental health of children in schools in towns where a resident dentist practised, was compared with those in schools treated six months earlier by school dentists. The survey showed similar amounts of dental caries in the two groups, but that a higher proportion of this had been dealt with in the children attending schools where the School Dental Service operates. Many reasons have been suggested to explain why parents do not ensure that dental disease in their children is treated when dental services are available. Two of the important ones appear to be apathy and the economic burden in the absence of any dental health benefits scheme.