The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-04
VICIOUS" SAYS
 COMMITTEE OF TOOTH TROUBLES
Many Children's Mouths Insan- itary, Declares Cooper
 ating Board.

the teeth of school children in th,s
 city, is interesting. A study of the
 conditions found by the dental nurses
 and supervising dentists should De
 made by every mother, as science de- l clares that the spread of much dis ease is distinctly traceable to unsan- itary conditions of the mouth.
 The statement of the committee says:
 The following is a report of the work accomplished by the dental corps in the public schools for the past year, from September, 1915, to the closing of school, June 21. 1916.
 The corps comprised fourteen den- tai hygienists, two supervisors and one woman dentist until April 1, 1916, when one additional hygienist was ap- pointed.
 Total number of individual children gi. en prophylactic treatments, 10.990; total number of prophylactic treat ments given, 20,850; total number of l children receiving one treatment, 1,- I S9O; total number of children receiv- l ing two or more treatments, 9,10O. These figures would have been consid- erably increased if it had not been for the long illness of one of the den- tail hygienists.
 l Drs. A. c. Zones and R. II: w. Strang gave stereopticon lectures to 8,462 children. The supervisors, Miss House and Mrs. Hart, gave tooth brush drills to 1S,006 children. Practically all of the. children in the first three grades are supplied with tooth brushes and we note that new brushes are being purchased quite 1 freely, both in the schools and the storee of the city. During the past year 5,150 tooth brushes were sold ] in the schools to the children of these grades.
 l In order to prove definitely the val ue of the educational and preventive | work, it was necessary to have the da- | ta of the condition of the mouths of the children in higher grade who had never had the advantages of pre- l phylactic treatments, tooth brush drills and the education in mouth hy- giene. We, therefore selected the children in the fifth grade and the following is report of our findings as to the condition of their mouths and teeth.
 The total number of children exam ined in the fifth grade was 1,946 and the average age was twelve years Ot the 1.946 children, 629 had lost from one to four of the first perma- nent molars The total number of first permanent molars lost was 1,1S3. There were but 33 children out of nearly 2,000 who had no cavities in the permanent teeth and but 257 chil- dren had had molars filled outside of school. It will be noted that at twelve years of age these children have an immense number of cavities in the permanent teeth, and one can readily realize, without being dentist what the condition of the mouths will be when the children reach the ages of eighteen or twenty. An analysis of this data will demonstrate quite con clusively the great importance of our effort to better this phase of physical defect which is truly vicious. When the children in the second grade the past school year, reach the fifth grade three years from now, we will then make comparison of their mouths with the above table, endeav- bring to show that this system of pre- vention is doing all that we hope 1t will do to secure sound teeth and healthy mouths for our school chill dren.
 Dr. Elizabeth Beatty, the school de ntist. has been doin:, an excellent work in aiding us to save the first per- manent molar teeth, which are of such importance. Her report shows:
 Total number of individual children having teeth filled, ,570; total number of sittings, SIP; total number of chill dren worked for in the first grade. 139; total number of children worked for in the second grade, 414; total number of children worked for in the third grade, g.; total number of chill dren worked for in the fourth grade, |T; number of alloy filings in perma- hent teeth, 2,520; number of cement filings in permanent teeth, 104; num- Der of -gutta percha filings in perma- nent teeth, 2; number of alloy filings in temporary teeth, 54; number of ce- ment filings in temporary teeth, 53; number of gutta percha filings in temporary teeth, 6; treatments for the relief of pain in permanent teeth, 81; treatments for the relief of pain in temporary teeth, 8; attractions of per- manent teeth, 4; extractiorfs of tempo rary teeth 211; total number of mo- lars filled for children in the lower grades, 1883. these grades, there were 95 attractions
 
 higher grades.
 A central clinic has been conducted by Dr. Henry s. Riddell for the relief of pain and the extraction of badly decayed permanent teeth, when the cases were too severe to be cared for in the schools. The operations per- formed were as follows: extractions, 100; treatments, 35; root filings, II; alloy filings, '; and cement filings IS. The total cost of this service amounted to $135.50.
 Numerous requests have been made | by the children in the higher grades 1 for the prophylactic treatments, and in order that they should have an op- portunity to have their teeth cleaned and polished, and be given instruc- tiens in the proper use of the tooth | brush, a summer clinic has been es- tablished in the following schools: Lincoln, Barnum, Prospect, Shelton. Maplewood and Whittier.
 Our work has besn considerably handicapped by the great influx of new children into the schools, but even with these unlocked fer addi- | tional numbers the dental corps has succeeded in taking care of the first three grades quite thoroughly.
 We are very grateful to the princi-sl pals and teachers for their hearty CO., operation in aiding us in every way in l our work of dental education and the | prevention of dental decay,