• •
FIRST DENTAL SURVEY OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN OP THE
VALLEY COMFLETED
For the first time a dentist has
co nductsd the fall school dental
examinations in the ^atanuska
Valley. This, procedure has made
possible a more accurate study
of the dental health of our
school.children. It will be im
mediately apparent from the fig
uro3 which fallow that the in
cidence of dental caries among
our school children is high
80 /o in the faimer school and
72 % in the V/asilla school.
The high incidence' of children
with cavities in the six-year
molars is especially a matter
for concern for all parents
since these are perhaps the most
important teeth in the permanent
set. The six-year molars are
usually the first permanent teeth
to erupt and act as guidepoots
for all the later erupting per
manent teeth. Loss'of*the six
year molars endangers the normal
position of the other permanent
to th and is often responsible
for" cnacked teeth", deformity •
of the jaw, and a resulting im
proper mastication of food.
P -P H
:</hilc ife is the parents responsi
bility to sco that his child is
xamined twice a year by a dent*
tist and to provide the foods
necessary for building strong
teeth, and the equipment for
keeping the teeth clean (usually
a tooth brush and a dentifrice)
he child also has a vital part
u play, and ho should begin to
earn his role, his responsi
bility, before he starts to
School.
If given proper equipment, and
encouragement, children will
take pride in brushing their
own teeth enen before they enter
school. Care of the teeth dur
ing the Pre-school period is
vitally important as shown by
tlic fact that even in the first
grade a good percentage of t he
children had cavit'ios in permanent
six-year molars.
• ♦
The school child is oven more
directly responsibile for the
^are of his teeth. 7/hcther or
not he brushes his teeth con
scientiously end whether or not t
he eats candy or fruit and milk
for lunch is a matter of his *wn
choice. It is to a great extent
inhis or her power to determine
whether . or not he or she will
enjoy a set pf sound , well
cared for teeth as an adult.
Nature does not repair teeth as
she docs a broken limb, and the
old adage of " an ounce of pre
vention is worth a pound of cure"
is especially pertinent v/hen it
comc3 to teeth. The cure at best
i3 artificial ( though very nec
essary) and costly.
Reports have been sent to parents
of children found to have dental
defects and they are requested
to have the child notify his
teacher or Miss Vdiitncy when he
i3 under the care of a dentist.
Following is a report of the
findings of the school dental
survey:
Palmer
Number of school children examin
ed -- 297. Percentage of
children with dental caries (per
manent and temporary) --Q0%
Percentage of children with
cavities in six-year molars—63 %
Percentage of children v/ith cavit
ies in temporary tecth( first
six grades)— 64 %
Number of children who have lost
six-year molars--9,
Number of children with pyorrhrea
2, Number o.f children with other
gum conditions, where minor
dental survey is indicated -—5.
Total percentage of children with
stained teeth — 46^o. Percentage
of children with badly stained '^
teeth— 13 % ( deposits can be
removed only by a dentist)
Heavy deposites of tarter on the
teeth predeposes to decay.
( continued on page 7)