[Report 1927] / School Medical Officer of Health, Stirling County Council.

  • Stirlingshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1927
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1927] / School Medical Officer of Health, Stirling County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    23/54 (page 19)
    The table setting forth Mr. Somerville’s work, shows that of the 2,320 children inspected in the schools in Stirling Burgh, 1,787 required treatment, and the number of children actually treated by Mr. Somerville was 312. Extractions of temporary teeth numbered 292, and of permanent teeth 69. It will be noted further that there were as many as 270 fillings or stoppings, as they are called, of permanent teeth. Whole-time Dentists’ Work.—In the case of Mr. M'Queen and Mr. Shearman, the tables of work give the details of each school in their respective areas, as well as the totals in each case. It will be noted that of the 8,119 children inspected by Mr. M'Queen 6,786 required treatment, whereas the number of children actually treated was only 2,094. Extractions of temporary teeth numbered 3,361, and extrac- tions of permanent teeth numbered 804. The fillings in connection with temporary teeth were 156 and with per- manent teeth 1,262. Mr. Shearman’s table shows that of the 11,775 children inspected, 8,727 required treatment and only 2,179 of these actually submitted to treatment. The extractions of tem- porary teeth by Mr. Shearman amounted to 4594, and of permanent teeth 892. Eighty temporary teeth were filled or stopped and 1638 permanent. The fact that emerges from the results of the dental work mostly calling for attention is that in Stirling Burgh slightly less than one-fifth actually submitted to treatment by the School Dentist. In Mr. M'Queen’s area the results are slightly more favourable, but even here the percentage actually sub* mitting to treatment is slightly less than one-third, while in Mr. Shearman’s area it is almost exactly a fourth. This matter was spoken of in my last Annual Report, and while no doubt it is difficult to get some timid children to the dentist’s chair, I cannot but think that the main factor in causing the relatively small number to submit to treatment is the shilling charge which is made per child treated. The result is that all such cases as are considered and reported on as necessitous by the local School Management Committees receive dental treatment, whereas a very large proportion of the non-necessitous are not treated. This is a matter which I intend to bring before the Education Authority for further consideration on an early date. As pointed out last year, the dental staff is very fully employed, so that it is obvious if a larger proportion of those requiring treatment submitted to it the dental staff would require to be increased. Mr. M'Queen reports that a Headmaster had reported to him there had not been a single complaint of toothache among