New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-08-28
TO SAVE TEETH.
New Occupation for War-Cripples
Probably VIII Prove Boon
To Human Race.

To Human Race.
Shortly after the war began a Sc
ries Of Investigations to develop meth
DDS whereby the European nations
might put to work. their crippled
soldiers was begun by Frank B. Gill
broth, the efficiency engineer. Close
ly following the announcement that
he had discovered a plan to ena able
one-armed soldiers 10 operate the
typewriter, comes his practical idea
of conserving the teeth through dental
nurses. After a study of the funda-
mentals Oh dentistry, Mr.. Gilbreth
concluded that totally deaf, one
eyed, one-handed. legless cripple,
properly taught, can do more efficient
work in cleaning teeth than the dem
list can 90 IN the time for which the
average worker can afford to pay, be-
cause the dentists fee will be higher.
He declares that this is no dream. hit
a working plan that can be carried
out. The majority of people, Mr..
Gilhreth has deduced, do not vet
realize the actual money value Of
their teeth. Every dollar saved from
the dentist at the present time Ia
given several times over to a. phvsi-
sian later on Much ill-health is
traceable to poor teeth. Further
more, few people know that most of
the decay is easily preventable bv
proper periodical cleaning. and the
rest of it can be taken care Of nv
filling the cavities when thew are first
formed. Most people get their first
knowledge of a cavity when it is large
enough to cause the tooth to ache.
This leads to the necessity for clean
ing properly, and 1t can be done at
little expense to the operator, SAYS
Mr. Gilbreth. To induce people to
avail themselves Of this dental nurs-
ing service, Mr.. Gilbreth' would first
make it fashionabl and it's absence
considered economically and hygen-
ically indecent. Parents should be
held cr1minally responsible until the
children are old enough to care for
their own teeth, the engineer says
In paper presented at a recent con-
ference Of the Society for the Pro-
motion Of Occupational Therapy, a
copy of which the author sends us,
Mr.. Gllbreth sets forth the methods
to be employed in establishing this
new occupation for crippled soldiers.
He says:
I'm this age of destruction there Is
great need of conservation, and no
conservation is so necessary as that
Of human beings. With the constant
destruction of men in the Great War
has come the pressing need of con-
serving and using the cripples, both
war cripples and industrial cripples.
I'VE may place the cripple by :.
changing his old work -. or we
may place a cripple at some new
work, such as dental nursing, that
has never been done to the degree
needed.
Dental nursing may be defined as
that part Of prophylactlc treatm ent
of the teeth that can be done by a
person without q complete dental
training, namely. the polishing of the
teeth by hand with stick and pumice.
There Is world wide lack of
knowledge as to the relation of sound
teeth to good health. America is rec
ognized as the leader in the profess
sion Of dentistry. American dentists
are recognized throughout the world
as being, as class, the most expert
practitioners in all branches of den
tistry, though other countries are now
also coming to the front in this great
human work.
TN spite Of the great work Of the
dentist, even here In America and
still more abroad the care Of teeth
Is generally looked upon too often by
the public as simply concerning APP
pearance, beauty, and comfort or
speed In the process Of mastication
rather than as the most important
factor Of good health. while the den
list is too often interested primarily
| in filing cavities rather than preserv-
| ing the tooth as a whole. The great
| err productive efficiency resulting fron
! the natural use of all Of ones teeth
| remains almost unappreciated. 1t Is
natural, this being the general view
| point, that care Of the teeth, or den
j tai treatment is often classed as q
| luxury rather than a necessity. The
| high, cost Of dentistry practically
| makes such treatment a luxury a.
! present.
The work of the dentist is expen.
! sive, and must necessarily be. The
! high cost of dentistry is not surpris-
! ing, nor is the profession to be blamed
| for it. The training for the profes
| sion Is long, arduous and expensive
! and much of the work involves costly
| materials, as we'll as time and pro.
vides problems requiring no end Of
| education, experience and the high
est grade of skill Dentistry provide:
| an unlimited, satisfying field for the
mechanical genius. How are we tt
provide proper pay for such work
yet insure necessary treatment to the
| average wage Garner?
The answer is this:
Il. By matchmaking the work O.
| the dentist.
''2. BY having the trained eXper
to do the skilled work only.
80. BY training loW-priced worker:
to do such parts of the work as re.
| nuire less skill.