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A regular feature looking back at what was being printed more than 100 years ago in the Bristol Daily Courier. This week’s entry comes from the May 20, 1921 edition of the newspaper.
Dental Clinic For Youngsters Busy Place These Days
At School a with a grin on their faces and the determination to brush their teeth! What peace and quiet reigns over the dental clinic at the Bristol community house. The stillness is broken only by the voices of the ladies in attendance calling some new patient to the dentist’s chair. How much more dignified these little men and women seem than their parents and their older brothers and sister. Unlike the older folks, they do not admonish the dentist to “please be very careful and please don’t hurt me.”
Oh, no. These Bristol children enter the lion’s den with dignity, like ladies and gentlemen. And they come out with a broad grin showing their clean white teeth. And the best part of it all is that the youngsters come out three times a day.
The clinic ls held three times a week, Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9.30 to 11.30 o’clock. Dr. P. Lawrence Frey is in attendance Monday, Dr. John J. Hargrave on Tuesday, and Dr. George A. Hussey on Friday. There are always two ladies in attendance, one in the outer of the office and one to assist the dentist.
The clinic which opened April 1 and treats an average of twelve children a day. During the month of April 238 treatments were made on the children, who are between six and 12 years old. This number includes cleanings, fillings and extractions, the latter being more numerous than either of the other two operations.
The clinic serves both the public and parochial schools. The schools send a number of children to the clinc every half hour beginning at 9.30 so that none of the children lose any more time from his or her studies than is necessary. When the dentist has finished treating the child, the attendant in the outer office gives the child a reminder card on which is printed the motto “GOOD TEETH—GOOD * HEALTH” and also suggestions for taking care of the teeth. He is always asked whether he cleans his teeth three times a day to which question he invariably answers “Yes, ma’am.” Each child is also given a small tube of dental cream.
Some of the children return the following week for further treatment while others are treated on their first visit. Of the twelve or fourteen children present this morning, most of them needed fillings and extractions.
An advertisement from the May 20, 1921 edition of the Bristol Daily Courier:
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