asked the Minister for Health the annual amount spent by his Department or public health authorities in educating children in the principles of oral hygiene and the care of the teeth.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Care of Teeth and Oral Hygiene: Education of Children.
7.
Mr. Ryan
In the case of health authorities, it is not possible to work out a dependable estimate of their annual outlay on instruction in dental hygiene as such instruction, when given to children, is imparted in the course of dental inspection and treatment sessions conducted by health authority dental staff.
Neither is it possible to segregate expenditure by my Department under this heading from its general expenditure on dissemination of information and advice on health and health services, for which a total sum of £17,000 is provided in the Department's Vote for the current year. The Deputy may wish to know, however, that as part of its publicity programme the Department has a standing arrangement with the National Film Institute for the showing by the Institute's Mobile Units, in schools throughout the country, of suitable health films, including two films on dental care. In addition, a special leaflet on oral hygiene and the prevention of dental caries is issued, each year, to parents who become eligible for children's allowances and to other interested persons, on request.