February, 1950 - 6.

IL4SSACilUTX;TTS iEPDZi~EPl' OF PU3LIC €L%ALTIi 333TAL 3 3 W R C E PROtTZC 'I'

'Crlado A. Getting, M,DA, Dr.P.H., Commissioner of Public Health William E. Griff in; D.P:.D:, Member'of S t a t e Public Eealth Council I J i l l i a m Db I!ellock, TI.:;.D,, M.P.H., Dental 3 i rec tor

A special research project has been in s t i t u t ed by t h i s Department a t the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children t o evaluate the f e a s i b i l i t y of expand- ing the t ra ining o f auxi l iary dental personnel. yossible by passage into l a w an Act t o be found under Chapter 473 of the General Laws of the Cornonwealth:

This project h s been made

r f S C T I 0 3 1, and directed t o i n s t i t u t e a sFecia1 program of dental research, f o r the t ra ining of feminine personnel, who shall be enrolled as hygienists, This program sha l l be conducted under the direct ion and supervision of the department of public heal th and ' the board of dental examiners f o r a Yeriod n o t exceeding f ive 'years , but no funds sha l l be a-pr)ropriated f o r i t by the commontrealth, and a l l funds therefor shall be furnished by the United S t a t e s government through the agency of the childrents bureau o f the Federal Security Agency. The commissioner o f public heal th i s hereby designated as the agency of the commonwealth t o make application fo r grants and assistance and, with the appova i of the governor and the commission on admin- i s t r a t i o n and finance, t o accept any such grant i n the nane of the commonv~ealth. The conmissioner bf public health, with the aproval of the board o f dental examiners, may rescind the arrangement with the Federal Security Agency, 'and cancel such Frobam at any time during said f i v e yew period, i f , i n h i s opinion, the program i s n o t progressing sa t i s fac tor i ly . S C T I O N 2. ?or the purposes of t h i s dental research program, any student enrolled therein may prepare and f i l l cav i t ies i n children's tee th under the supervision of a registered dent i s t i n a disFensary o r c l i n i c approved by the commissioner of publ.ic heal th , the provisions of chapter one hundred and twelve o f the General Laws t o the contrary notwithstanding. H

The department of public heal th i s hereby authorized

The Forsyth Dental Infirmary f o r Children has been designated as the locale of the project. The d i rec tor of the project w i l l be Dr, Hoc.r&d M. Warjerison and the c l i n i c a l s q e r v i s o r w i l l be D r . Charles 2. Hatch, both members o f the s ta f f of the Forsyth Dental Infirmary. Dr, V i l l i a m D.Wellock o f the Dental Division of th i s Commonwealth's Health Department has been assigned t o ac t as the l i a i son betifeen the Department and the Zorsyth Dental Infirmary. D r . William H. Gr i f f in , Dental Director of the City of Boston IIealth Department and member o f the State Health 3epartrnent Public Eeal t h Council, has been aj7pointed as Chief Consultant t o the study. Other consultants already apyointed

D r . James Dunning

D r . J. Kurray Gavel

are:

Dean, Harvard School of Dental Medicine

President, Massachusetts Dental Society

D r .

14r.

Dr,

D r . D r ;

D r . D r . D r .

Paul Losch

L. T. Maloney

Eerb e r t I. Margo li s

Cyr i l Marshall-Day

Hugo Muench

Leroy Miner

Raymond Nagle

Helmut Zand er

Chief of Dental Division, Children 1s

Assistant Professor o f Dentistry Ho sp i tal

Harvard School of Dental Medicine

Assistant t o the President Massachusetts Dental Society

Director Postgraduate Or thodonti c s Tufts College Dental School

Dean, T u f t s College 3enta l School

Assistant Dean, Harvard School of Public Health

Representing Trustees o f Forsyth Dental Infirmary f o r Children

Representing Board o f Dental 3xam i ner s

Professor of Oral Pediatr ics , Tufts College Dental School

This project has been presented to'and discussed by the Research C 6 m m i t - ' t ee of the Massachusetts Dental Society, and at i t s meeting on March 11, 1949, voted t o amrove t h i s project i n nrinciple. The objectives o f t h i s project were presented t o the Board of Trustees of theKassachusetts Dental Society at the i r September, 1949, meeting. l imited t o a period of f ive years, the f i r s t two years o f which w i l l be devoted t o the t ra ining of feminine personnel. The l a s t three years have been designated a s the evaluation period.

As the law s t a t e s , t h i s pro jec t i s

The need fo r improvement in the f i e l d of ca r i e s control has been recog- nized i n th i s s t a t e for nany years. There i s abundant evidence that t h i s control i s not sat isfactory a t present. A recent survey by the American Academy of Pedia t r ics indicates that more chi ldren 's dent i s t ry i s performed i n t h i s Commonwealth than any other s t a t e i n the nation, but despi te t h i s f a c t , current methods of car ies control do not a;npear suf f ic ien t to overcome the wide d ispar i ty which ex is t s between the present dental needs and exis t ing f a c i l i t i e s for yroviding necessary dental service t o meet thece needs. T o r many years the des i r ab i l i t y o f increasing the scope of the service which auxi l ia ry aids may render i n the f i e l d o f dent i s t ry has been a debatable subject. Mo evidence, hoilever, has been avai lable i n the United S ta tes t o sunnort the contentions of various a o u p s concerning t h i s question. I n an e f f o r t t o provide concrete evidence as t o the advisabi l i ty o r inadvisabi l i ty o f such a program t h i s project has been in i t ia ted . The Department and the Forsyth 3enta l Infirmary a re aqroaching t h i s experimental project with an open mind. Careful s t a t i s t i c a l analyses and all avai lable means o f obtaining

February, 1950 - 8.

objective evidence w i l l be u t i l i z e d during t h e course of the study i n an e f f o r t t o determine the quantity and qua l i ty o f dental care tha t can be per- formed by auxi l iary personnel so trained. A representative group of t ra inees v i l l be selected f r o m the f i rs t -year c l a s s of the &orsyth School f o r Dental Hygienists. A s a pa r t o f the i r course o f t ra ining, the students selected for t h i s -project w i l l qualify as dental hygienists as presently defined under the laws of the Oommonwealth.

I n the near fu ture upon the advice of the Mqssachusetts Dental Society and other interested groups the Commissioner shal l 'appoint an Advisory C o m m i t - tee consisting of dent i s t s , public health o f f i ce r s , soc ia l workers, and other professional groups, as ve11 as other c iv ic leaders. committee w i l l be invi ted t o review the repor t s o f the project f r o m time t o time, I t i s the sincere hope o f t h i s Department tha t dent i s t ry H i l l take an ac t ive in te res t i n t h i s project and w i l l f o l l o w i t s progress and conclusions, Every e f fo r t w i l l be made t o keep the dental profession informed as the pro j ect develops.

The members of t h i s