Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-03-21
LAW CONSIDERED FOR
THE DENTAL NURSES
From the Boston Transcript.

rhe average Of life has been steadily in
crcasing In recent years. We have that
assurance not only upon the authority OF
the medical fraternity, but also upon that
OF the life insurance companies, which
cannot afford to be ca reless of their facts
upon that point. Various influences have
contributed to this result. The fatalities
that formerly attended many diseases
have been very considerably reduced by
the marvellous development of medical
science and surgical skill. The more ra-
tional methods of. living have contributed
much to the result. The pure food laws
and the inspection of milk have had Il
very appreciable share, but perhaps no
single cause is more responsible for I'M
proved conditions than the advances made
in dentistry and the greater care that is
given to the teeth. especially In the cases
of children.
Still it is possible to progress still more
in this direction, and any proposition that
promises more liberal attention to the
preservation of the teeth is worthy or
serious consideration. A bill is now before
the legislature providing for dental nurses
ito perform the service of cleansing of
teeth" which aims to leave the skilled
practitioner more time to do the repair
and constructive work for which his train
ing has fitted him. Several Years ago the
state of Connecticut passed "A law per-
hitting IAN assistant of a registered or
licensed dentist to perform the so-called
operation Of cleansing teeth" The dentist
who was the pioneer i'm that movement
claims that in his experience dental
carries, or the dry, hard decay OF the bone,
has been reduced 20 per cent through the
monthly cleaning OF teeth by his dental
nurse.
The bill puts the licensing and approval
OF nurses for that purpose under the
state board of dentistry. Their duties
sr,na,1S H@,,, mn Int 10, IN t1N@ trAnt vp nrf .f
dental diseases. other than through their
ministratfons to measurably prevent them.
They would be placed under more strict
regulation by the terms of the measure
than they are I'm Connecticut, where the
law has worked very satisfactorily. 1t is
claimed that it takes half the working
time of a dentist with normal practice to
give to 100 patients monthly the care that
can be equally we'll given by the dental
nurse. 1t would tend to attract patrons
for this service who otherwise do not go
to the dentist save in a case of extremity.
and In many cases would save them the
experience that they dread.
The personal care of the teeth is n much
more general habit than it was a genera
ton ago. but the ordinary methods of
teeth-cleaning even when practiced regu-
larly and with superficial th~OroughnesS,
do not go to the root OF the matter. the
removal of lime deposits and other foreign
substances, the polishing and so forth.
The dental nurse would be of especial
value to schools and other institutions.
There can no longer be any doubt that the
condition of the teeth of school children
has a direct relation to their progress.
Many found backward. unambitious and
even unruly in school. have practically be-
come different creatures in these respects
after the corrections in deplorably defec-
tive teeth have been made. 1t may be
necessary for the dentist to take such
cases in n in the first place, but the
registered nurse could do all that was gen.
orally necessary in looking to them
thereafter. We can see no danger in the
bill but many potential benefits.