asked the Minister for Health in view of the fact that less than one-third of those children who are eligible for dental services under the schools dental service have in fact been examined what steps, if any, have been or are being taken to ensure that an adequate number of dentists will be made available for this service.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Schools Dental Services.
15.
The Deputy has apparently based his assumption that "less than one-third of those children who are eligible for dental services under the schools dental service have in fact been examined" on the tabular statement which accompanied the reply which I made to a question in the House on 17th instant. He appears to have overlooked the significance of the first note to that table, which drew attention to the fact that the service is a continuing one while a child remains at school and that, consequently, a child who is not examined or treated in a particular year may have been examined or treated in the preceding year and may be examined and, if necessary, treated in the succeeding year. The position, therefore, is very much better than stated by the Deputy, although I agree that the present service is inadequate.
Over the past five years there has been a considerable expansion in the dental service available for national school children. The number of wholetime dentists employed by local authorities has increased by over 50 per cent. in that period. Owing mainly to the attraction of employment for dentists abroad, particularly in Great Britain, difficulty has been experienced in filling vacancies for dentists in the local authority service. I have the whole question under review at present and pending the completion of that review I do not propose to indicate the steps which may be taken to improve the service.
It is clear, however, that treatment services alone will not solve the problem of dental health of children. If the fluoridation of piped water supplies, for which provision is included in a Bill now before this House, is introduced, there should in time be a big reduction in the incidence of dental caries among children That reduction would enable the services of the public dental officers to be used to much better effect than is now possible.
Is it not a fact that there were fewer dentists employed in the schools dental service in 1958 than in 1957, taking the whole-time and part-time dentists together?
The Deputy is in error. At present there are 73 whole-time and 50 part-time dental surgeons employed by local authorities, not counting about eight whole-time posts vacant for some months. In 1955, there were 47 whole-time and 44 part-time dental surgeons.
The years mentioned by me were 1957 and 1958, and the Minister's tabular statement showed that the 1958 figure is 122 and the 1957 figure, 136.
The Deputy may note that the Minister is examining this question. The reply to the next question will give some further elucidation in the matter.
16.
asked the Minister for Health how many additional dentists are estimated as being required to ensure adequate inspection and treatment services under the schools dental service.
The incidence of dental caries is so high among our school children, and the present school dental service in consequence falls so far short of being adequate to cope with the problem, that it is very difficult to give a reliable estimate of the figure sought by the Deputy. If one were to take a ratio of one dentist to 1,500 school children, which would correspond to the dentist-to-population ratio applying to the population generally in Norway, the extra number of whole-time dentists required for the schools service would be of the order of 275. On the other hand a World Health Organisation Expert Committee has expressed the opinion that even in those countries, such as Norway, with the highest ratio of dentists to population, no more than one-third of the dental needs of the people are being met. This suggests that, if we are to depend on treatment services alone, the number of additional dentists required to provide an adequate service for school children would be greater than the figure I have mentioned.
Could the Minister give us any idea when this survey by the Department of Health will be completed because it is quite clear that this is a very urgent problem?
I am not able to state when it will be completed but the Minister is undertaking it at present.
17.
asked the Minister for Health what percentage of the total number of children treated under the schools dental service was treated conservatively, and what percentage by extractions.
The information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department and I am informed that it could not be extracted from the records of health authorities without a detailed examination of the dental record card of each child treated. Further, numbers of the children treated had teeth both filled and extracted.