COHEN-] DEXTAL HVGIEXE 121 



child's mouth will retard that child in its school studies for six 

 months. The per capita cost of educating a child in the ele- 

 mentary schools varies from $20.00 to $35.00 a year. Even not 

 counting the ultimate loss caused by bad teeth, through lack of 

 vitality and working efficiency of the individual, one can readily 

 see what an enormous loss is sustained by the community through 

 faulty and uncorrected dental conditions. Many children fail to 

 make their grades on account of their bad teeth, and the com- 

 munity has to cover the cost of re-educating them. The cost 

 of correcting faulty conditions and of maintaining a mouth in 

 good shape, and preventing decay of the teeth is in England 

 Sl.OO per child treated ; in Germany about $0.82 ; Rochester, 

 N. Y., $0.57 and in Chicago about $0.50. One can readily see 

 what an enormous financial, material and moral gain to the com- 

 munity would result from the expenditure of a relatively small 

 initial sum by the municipality to institute and further this work, 

 and yet there are short-sighted tax payers, lethargic legislators, 

 and not a few old-time educators w^ho fail to see the crying need 

 that exists for and the great improvement that would result from 

 a municipally backed movement to improve the teeth, the health 

 and the mbral caliber of its citizens. 



THE WORK IX CHICAGO. 



There are about 260,000 children attending the elementary 

 classes of the 260 public schools of Chicago, and about 80,000 

 more in attendance at the parochial schools. The conditions ob- 

 taining in Chicago with respect to dental defects in children were 

 found to be essentially the same as in other cities. 



Soon after the physical examination of children was be- 

 gun in 1908, it was found that faulty conditions of the teeth 

 far outranked all the other conditions in frequency, constituting 

 no less than 55 per cent of all defects found. Of 120,301 chil- 

 dren examined in 1910, the medical inspectors found 43,922 

 children suffering from faulty oral conditions. Had these ex- 

 aminations been made by dentists equipped for the work the 

 percentage of diseased teeth would undoubtedly have been found 

 just as high as elsewhere — about 97 per cent. Towards the end 

 of 1010 the work was taken up by a volunteer corps of dentists. 

 Of the 9,000 children examined by them in 53 schools 96.8 per 

 cent were found to be in need of dental attention. 



Beginning with 1911 an appropriation was secured for a 

 supervising dentist and the work taken up in earnest with the 

 co-operation of the school authorities. 



