DENTISTRY AND THE STATE
Sm,—In his letter to you on Dentistry and the State, Mr. Edward Samson says that " Between the two wars dentistry has been available to nearly every person in Great Britain." If by this he means that. good con- servative treatment by competent practitioners has been generally avail- able, I say that his statement is not true. It is impossible in a letter to give fully my reasons for thus flatly contradicting Mr. Samson's assertion, but I may point out that with a school Leaving age of 14, compulsory insurance at 16, and for all or most Approved Societies a minimum. period of two years before the insured person is eligible for additional benefits, it is difficult to see what dental treatment has been available to this section of the population at least, and there remains the- large number of people who come under no Insurance scheme at any age.
' The fees necessarily and fairly charged for the best type of private practice facilities make thesz facilities beyond the reach of the majority of people, and to represent the situation as one in which the population has obstinately refined to avail itself of existing facilities for dental treat- ment is to give an entirely false picture. I am convinced that first-rate facilities must be provided before the desire to make use of them is Postage on this issue: Inland, 'id.; Overseas, ad.
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