TEETHING TROUBLES
SIR,—If dental health educationalists are to be con- vinced that their efforts are less than useful, it will not be by Monica Furlong's criticism of them, but rather because of the amazing ignorance of the sub- ject she exhibits. Here, certainly, is one of their most dismal failures. When an intelligent woman, also a mother, writes of the prevention of dental disease being 'primarily a matter of economics,' one winces. Whatever the cost of disease to State or individual, when was a desire to cure and prevent it inspired by economic considerations?
Monica Furlong then attempts to belittle the signi- ficance of dental disease by blithely remarking, 'A few dental fillings or even a whole mouthful of them don't matter a hoot in hell' compared with the fre- quency of road accidents or sexual assaults against children. Of course they don't. It is not a mouthful of fillings which disturbs the dental propagandist, but the ubiquitous and urgent need of them in countless mouths. Nor have bad teeth been compared with those two other horrors; though Monica Furlong should know that the long-term effects of neglected teeth account for more misery, if less immediate tragedy, than either of them. Said Lady Mellanby (of the Medical Research Council), 'Of all the dis- orders which beset humanity, dental disease is re- sponsible, directly and indirectly, for a larger aggregate amount of ill-health and unhappiness than any other form of disease.' Monica Furlong, how- ever, believes parents have much that is better to do than bother with 'something as trivial as teeth.' She also reminds us that 'plenty of adults are walking about with well-fitting false teeth,' and that tooth- lessness does not interfere with health and happiness. Would these remarkable discoveries console her when her children reach toothlessness, perhaps pre- maturely, because the methods prescribed for avoid- ing it were too great a tax upon her parental patience? Nor, maybe, is she moved by the fact that thousands of children under ten have full, 'well- fitting' dentures because their parents also thought teeth trivial, if they thought at all.
This unrealistic critic may bp surprised to learn that the dental profession is also aware that there are 'other factors involved in dental decay' besides diet and the need for meticulous cleanliness. Re- search workers devote much time and thought to investigating these problems. Until they, or Monica Furlong, arrive at convincing conclusions it is necessary to rely on the considerable evidence which shows that the wrong foods are largely responsible for the widespread incidence of dental decay, that the principles of oral hygiene Monica Furlong so derides effectively reduce it. I hope Monica Furlong's readers will be convinced by official statements. From among numerous similar pronouncements the following may suffice : 'The state of the dental health of the population is bad and its effect on their health is bad.'—The Interdepartmental Committee on Dentistry. Thus, simply stated, is the official opinion of 'something as trivial as teeth.'—Yours faithfully,
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