Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-21
URGE TOOTHBRUSH
. DRILLS IN SCHOOLS
Central Dental Association to
Have Committee to Push
the Campaign.

II the plans of the Central Dental
Association go through. the boys and
girls of Newark will soon have tooth
brushes to carry to school the same
as their books. and they will become
as necessary adjuncts as the books.
Tooth brush drills, in which the
children will be taught the proper
care of the teeth, would be as i'm
portant as the training of the mind.
This was discussed at a meeting of
the association at Achtel- Stetter's
last night and devoted exclusively to
the discussion of oral hygiene. A
committee of seven members will be
appointed shortly by DIR. Kussy, pres
ident of the association, to actively
push the campaign to have children
in the public school drilled in the
proper use of the toothbrush.
| Every speaker of the evening
agreed that the preventative work
was of more importance than the res
! torative work. and it was emphati-
cally pointed out that the conditions
of the mouth and teeth were import
ant factors In health.
| DIR. A. II. Stevenson, chairman of
the oral hygiene committee of the
| New York State Dental Society, read
a paper on 1.-THE Dentist and Public
Health" in which he pointed out
the necessity of tooth brush drills In
the public schools. the training of the
dental nurses to instruct children how
to clean their teeth and the education
of the public in general to the neees-
sitv of Carefully watching their
children daily to see that they follow
out the instructions received. He
stated that In nine large cities the
work of education In oral hygiene
was already being carried on, and
the results were astonishing. He
further advocated the training. of the
public through the motion pictures.
particularly showing bacteria many
times enlarged. at work.
DIR. A. G. Zones. of Bridgeport.
| Conn, told of an orphan asylum
where every one of the children had
their teeth put in perfect order and
kept so, with the result that where
| in one year there had been over 300
| eases of infectious and contagious
| diseases in the following year there
were but seven.
| Dr. Rodriguez OttoIengui, of New
York, laid great stress upon the ne
cessity of repairing teeth before the
| pulp became affected and declared
that In 80 per cent. OF the cases where
the pulp was affected there was no
cure. Final success, he said, could
only come when mouth inspection.
was made compulsory by law
Other speakers who discussed DR..
Stevenson's paper We're Drs. Herbert
Locke Wheeler, r. G.. Hutchinson and
Dr. Thaddeus Hyatt, of Brooklyn. All
| united In the necessity of q hygiene
nurse. $3.50
George A. Mirick, assistant State
commissioner of education, told of
the work being done by medical in
spectors. and said the movement was
already on foot to do many greater
| things for the health of the school
child. but declared that 1t would BIO
| necessary In some places to educate
! the parents before 1t would be pos
sble to do the things necessary with
out great protest.
| Newark's free dental clinics were
described by George F. Reeve,
president of the Clinic Association,
and he pointed out that when the
necessity of establishing clinics was
told the officials the legislation was
promptly passed making 1t possible.
Mr.. Reeve also said there would be a
| third clinic established in short
| time.
DIR. M. Feldman informed the menu
| bers that in Newark the medical in
| spectors examined the children's
teeth, and where defects were dis
! covered the child's parents were noti-
| fed. and this was followed up by a
| visit from the school nurse.
! Prior to the meeting a banqGf'
| served at which about fifty sat