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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1974
THE TREATMENT WILL BE SUBSIDISED, BUT NOT PROVIDED FREE. A SMALL ANNUAL FEE PER PARTICIPANT WILL BE CHARGED, AS IN THE CASE OF THE SCHOOL MEDICAL SERVICE. IT IS EXPECTED THAT IN THE YEAR IN WHICH THE SERVICE BEGINS, IN 1979/80, SOME 82,000 CHILDREN WILL BE ENTERING PRIMARY 1, OF WHOM 41,000 HAY JOIN THE SCHEME.
THE USE OF DENTAL NURSES TO PROVIDE ROUTINE PREVENTIVE DENTAL SERVICE HAS BEEN ADOPTED, AND PROVED SUCCESSFUL FOR MANY YEARS, IN NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED KINGDON, CEYLON, MALAYSIA, AND SINGAPORE.
THE DENTAL NURSES TRAINING SCHOOL IN THE CENTRE WILL TRAIN 30 DENTAL NURSES AND SIX DENTAL HYGIENISTS A YEAR, THE FORMER NEEDING TWO YEARS TO COMPLETE THE COURSE, AND THE LATTER ONE YEAR.
AFTER GRADUATION, THE DENTAL NURSES WILL OPERATE UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION OF GOVERNMENT DENTAL OFFICERS. THE CHILDREN'S DENTAL CLINIC WILL CONSIST OF 30 CHAIRS, BUT THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF NURSES THAT ONE DENTAL OFFICER CAN EFFECTIVELY SUPERVISE IS APPROXIMATELY 15.
THE ECONOMICAL SIZE FOR A CLINIC IS THEREFORE ONE WITH ACCOMMODATION FOR 30 DENTAL NURSES AND TWO DENTAL OFFICERS.
BASED ON A WORKING RATIO OF ONE DENTAL NURSE PER 2,000 PARTICIPATING CHILDREN, SUCH A CLINIC WILL BE ABLE TO COPE WITH A MAXIMUM OF 60,000 PARTICIPATING CHILDREN.
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