editorials
A n oth er an n u al se ssio n in n ovation : th e stu d e n t clinic p ro g ram
Of the many innovations introduced in the scientific program of the Association’s Centennial Session last September, none was more satisfactory and rewarding than the Student Clinic Program. For the first time in the history of the American Dental Association, undergraduate dental students were enabled to participate in and contribute to the scientific program of an annual session of the Association. The Council on Scientific Session of the Association invited every dental school in the United States to select its best student clinician. The winning clinician in each school received an expense-paid trip to New York City, the site of the Cen tennial Session. The students presented their table clinics on the afternoon of the first day of the session to a large and appreciative audience of older, active members of the Association. The clinics were reviewed by a panel of judges, and the winning clinicians received cash awards which were presented to them with appropriate ceremonies at the reception which the Association gives each year for those who participate in the scientific program. Last year’s student clinic project was so successful that it is to be repeated at the forthcoming 101 annual session of the Association in Los Angeles next October. The American Dental Association, and particularly its Council on Scientific Session, takes this occasion to express its appreciation to the dental deans and their faculty members for encouraging their students to contribute to this program. The Asso ciation also wishes to express its appreciation to the Dentists’ Supply Company of New York for the financial sponsorship of the program. The company is to be complimented for its continued support of this highly worthwhile endeavor.
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N ation al D en tal Civil D efen se C onferen ce, L o s A n g ele s Oct. 1 5 : d e n tists u rg ed to a tte n d
Only the most optimistic or the most uninformed can remain unconcerned over thè growing tenseness of international affairs. The collapse of the Summit meeting in Paris, the unrest in South Africa, Cuba under Castro, and the riots in Tokyo are by no means unrelated. They are instigated and directed by those who would rid the world of freedom and democracy and substitute in their stead, communism and serfdom. Whether the clash of the two ideologies will result in more than cold war, America, at present, cannot be sure. America can be sure, however, that its military is doing its utmost to prepare—defensively and offensively—against atomic attack. Should such a catastrophe come, are civilians prepared to meet it? Probably not. Should such a catastrophe come, are civilian dentists prepared to render competent aid to the injured? Again, probably not. Steps to improve that situation will be taken at the Second National Dental Civil Defense Conference which will be held at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles Saturday, October 15, two days prior to the opening of the Association’s onehundred and first annual session. At the Conference, presented under the auspices of the Council on Federal Dental Services of the Association, federal representatives will outline the responsibilities of governmental and private organizations in a national emergency and discuss dentistry’s functions and obligations in a national program of disaster preparedness. A panel of Navy Corps instructors will present a capsule version of their renowned Casualty Treatment Training Course. In view of the serious potentials of the present international situation, and the part dentists will have to play should those potentials become a reality, it is an ticipated that the Conference will draw a huge attendance. Members of the dental profession are the best equipped, by education and experience, to serve as func tional assistants to physicians in times of catastrophic disaster. However, without additional training in casualty care, the competence of even the most competent dentist would be seriously hampered. Last fall the United States Air Force instituted a mass casualty training program for its dental officers, the contents of which might readily be adopted by civilian dentists. It included instruction on the causes, symptoms and signs of closed airways and procedures for their alleviation; hemorrhage control; symptoms and treatment of shock; emergency medication; artificial respiration; emergency care of wounds, fractures and burns and recognition of radiation injury. Although, under ordinary circumstances, these subjects lie outside the dental sphere of activity, dentists can master them quickly—with proper training—and put them to good use in case of a nuclear attack on their community. The Second National Dental Civil Defense Conference is not being held for the purpose of training dentists in civil defense technics and procedures. Rather it is being held for the purpose of motivating members of the profession to acquire the necessary training by providing them with objective information on the present
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status of the nation’s civil defense effort, the type of training program that to date has proved most effective and the service and ministrations which the community shall expect from their dentists should it experience an atomic attack. In the words1 of General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army, “Civil defense is clearly a subject which transcends not only the interest of the Army but also the Depart ment of Defense. Indeed, it is a subject which inherently should have a very personal and universal interest for all Americans.” . I. Lemnitzer, Lym an L. A d d re ss, N a tio n a l A sso c ia tio n of State an d T erritorial C iv il ington, D. C., A p r il 6, I960. C iv il Defense R e vie w A M A , Ju n e I960.
Defense
Directors, W a s h
The W hite H ouse C o n feren ce on Children an d Y ou th : g o ld en a n n iv e rsa ry
The 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth held on President Eisenhower’s invitation March 27 to April 2 in Washington, D. C., marked the golden anniversary of what has become a national institution. Unfortunately this year’s conference—the sixth of its kind—scarcely ruffled the newspaper headlines and consequently scarcely broke through into the consciousness of the general public; quite a contrast to the publicity received by the five former conferences, held each decade since the first was called by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1910. Despite the apathy of the press and the indifference of the public, the 7,600 men, women and youth in attendance, who represented several million co-workers in seven thousand of the nation’s health, education and welfare organizations, agreed that in scope, objectives and potentials this sixth national conclave not only equaled but excelled those that preceded it. “Involved in the preparations were a wide range of public and private organizations—educational and religious groups, pro fessional and voluntary organizations, and scientific and scholarly societies.” The dental profession, through representatives of the American Dental Association, was competently represented as is evidenced by several of the recommendations that came out of the Conference. Out of the five day conclave came a total of 670 recommendations designed “to promote opportunities for children and youth [and to help them] realize their full potential for a creative life in freedom and dignity.” These recommendations touched on every aspect of child life, including education, employment, human rights, welfare, religion, health, recreation and delinquency. Among the many recommendations of special interest to dentists were the following four: “That communities provide the fullest protection against tooth decay by the fluoridation of water supplies.” “That communities provide early instruction to parents on development of the
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jaw and eruption and care of the teeth, to prevent many facial disharmonies with resulting emotional and physical health hazards.” “That periodic examination and continuous medical and dental care, including vision, hearing and lingual problems, early detection and treatment of defects and abnormalities, as well as the prevention and early treatment of disease, be provided for all children, including those of mobile families.” “That studies, programs, and facilities for the medical and dental care of adoles cents and the supervision of their general health be planned in accordance with their special needs and characteristics, since the number of disqualifications for military service indicates an urgent need for improvement of their physical, mental and social fitness.” By no means were all of the 670 resolutions unilateral. The four just cited call for action on the part of the public. One of the concluding recommendations calls for action on the part of the health professions. It reads: “That all States have a continuing, permanent body concerned with children and youth, such as a Governor’s Commission or a state committee or council to insure progress toward the goals established by the Conference.” No state dental association should wait to be invited to cooperate with such a council or committee. Rather it should take the lead in having such an agency formed. Fifty state organizations of that kind, functioning actively and efficiently during the next ten years, will guarantee accomplishments of which the 1970 White House Conference will be pleased, the press boastful and the public proud.