September 2013

Retired Consultant in Dental Public Health The editorial in the March issue of this Journal by JE Gallagher (2013) outlined the formation of BASCD on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of its founding. It describes well a range of issues which had to be addressed at the time and in the period leading up to recognition of the specialty but says nothing about what it felt like at the time. I remember well the letter written by Geoffrey Slack (1972) to the BDJ drawing attention to the importance of a population approach to oral health. My own interest in the area had started many years before while in general practice in Huddersfield. After a somewhat naïve attempt to run a substantial dental health education programme I was appointed Chief Dental Officer to Huddersfield County Borough. The routine visits to schools in the mid-1960s immediately demonstrated not only the overall poor oral health of the child population but also the alarming social, ethnic and local variations. I am proud that information about the situation which I presented to the Council resulted in the introduction of water fluoridation. This was especially pleasing since Huddersfield was the home town of the secretary of the National Pure Water Association. This together with another scheme introduced after my move to Cheshire in 1968 undoubtedly contributed more to the health of the population than all of my other efforts over the years. ...