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SUNDAY, MARCH 2, 1980
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SURVEY ON CHILDREN'S DENTAL HEALTH
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ABOUT 7 000 PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN WILL BE GIVEN DENTAL EXAMINATIONS IN THE COURSE OF A SURVEY BEING CONDUCTED BY THE DENTAL SERVICE OF THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT SAID THAT THE OBJECT OF THE SURVEY WAS TO MEASURE THE EFFECT OF WATER FLUORIDATION ON DENTAL DECAYS AND TO ASSESS THE STATE OF ORAL HEALTH OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.
CHILDREN BETWEEN SIX AND 11 FROM 68 PRIMARY SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT HONG KONG WILL BE EXAMINED. SIX TEAMS EACH COMPRISING A DENTAL SURGEON AND TWO ASSISTANTS ARE VISITING THE SELECTED SCHOOLS TO CARRY OUT THE EXAMINATIONS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE SURVEY WILL TAKE SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS TO COMPLETE.
THE DENTAL SURGEON WILL EXAMINE THE HARD AND SOFT TISSUE IN AND AROUND THE MOUTH OF THE CHILDREN, MARK DOWN ANY DENTO-FACIAL ANOMALIES, TAKE NOTE OF ANY TOOTH DECAY, AND CARRY OUT OTHER INSPECTIONS.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID ALL DATA OBTAINED WILL THEN BE PROCESSED BY COMPUTER AND A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE FINDINGS WOULD BE AVAILABLE ABOUT THREE MONTHS AFTER THE SURVEY.
HE ADDED THAT IN ORDER TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THE WATER FLUOR IDATION PROGRAMME AND TO DETECT ANY CHANGE IN THE ORAL HEALTH OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN, SIMILAR SURVEYS WILL BE CARRIED OUT EVERY THREE YEARS.
FLUORIDATION OF LOCAL DRINKING WATER BEGAN IN APRIL, 1961. TWO DENTAL SURVEYS BEFORE AND AFTER THE PROCESS WERE CONDUCTED, ONE IN 1960 AND ONE IN 1962 TO PROVIDE BASELINE DATA FOR FUTURE COMPARISON.
SINCE THEN THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN REGULARLY MONITORING THE EFFECTS OF FLUORIDATION TO PREVENT DENTAL DECAYS AMONG CHILDREN.
A STUDY IN 1968 SHOWED THAT THERE WAS A GENERAL REDUCTION OF 50 PER CENT IN THE INCIDENCE OF DENTAL DECAYS AMONG THOSE ATTENDING GOVERNMENT DENTAL CLINICS,
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