J. $oc. Cosmet. Chem. 29 225 (1978) Society of Oosmetic Ohemists of Great Britain 1978 Medal Lecture Presentation The 1978 Medal Lecture of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain was given by Professor M. N. Naylot, R.D., B.Sc., B.D.S., Ph.D., F.D.S., R.C.S.(Eng), of the Department of Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, Guy's Hospital Dental School, University of London. Professor Naylor's lecture was entitled 'Dental Health- a Community Responsibility' and was presented on Thursday, 2nd March, at the Royal Society of Arts, London, before an audience of Society members, their friends and colleagues. When making formal presentation of the Silver Medal immediately prior to the Lecture, the President of the Society, Mr K. V. Curry, reminded the audience that Professor Naylot regularly contributed to Society activities and especially as the Lecturer on Dental Disease and Dental Hygiene at the Society's Postgraduate Courses in Cosmetic Science. The vote of thanks was proposed by the Society's Hon, Treasurer, Mr G. L. Banks, who expressed his gratitude that the Society should honour, for the first time, an eminent member of the dental profession. Professor Naylor's subject was of particular interest to those many members of the Society who were involved with oral care and oral products. This was a sentiment shared by the audience who showed their appreciation by their warm reception of the lecture. 225

J. Soc. Cosmet. Chem. :•9 227-233 (1978) Dental health- a community responsibility M. N. NAYLOR Department of Periodontology and Preventive Dentistry, Guy's Hospital Dental School, London Bridge SE1 9RT The 1978 Medal Lecture by Professor M. N. Naylor, R.D., B. Sc., B.D.S., Ph.D., F.D.S., R.C.S.(Eng), delivered before the Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain on the 2nd March 1978 with K. V. Curry Esq., President of the Society in the Chair. It is perhaps almost as difficult to define what is meant by the term 'dental health' as it is to measure the level of dental health in any community. In 1965 the World Health Organisation defined dental health as 'a state of complete normality and functional efficiency of the teeth and supporting structures, and also the surrounding parts of the oral cavity and of the various structures related to mastication and maxillo-facial com- plex'. This is not a very helpful definition for there is no attempt to specify 'normality' or 'functional efficiency'. A much easier situation to describe is 'dental ill-health' due to the two major oral diseases, decay or caries, and periodontal disease. Both of these conditions have such an extremely high prevalence that for practical purposes they must be regarded as universal in civilised man. It has been estimated that by the age of 15 years, 97•o of British children have decay in Norway this proportion is 995/0 whereas at age 21 years, only one in a thousand is free of disease. In 1973 a survey of 13,000 children in England and Wales showed that approximately 75•o of 5-year-old children had decay and that, on average, every child had four affected deciduous teeth. In spite of previous care, 20•o of children aged 5-8 years and 10•o aged 9-15 years had five or more teeth needing treatment. By age 15 years on average, 10 of the 28 teeth were either decayed, filled or extracted. These data are confirmed by our own studies in London, the Isle of Wight and Hampshire. It is interesting to note that in the year prior to this survey, i.e. 1972, 7-8 million courses of treatment were provided under the NHS for children of school age. The situation in adults is no less depressing. In 1963, 375/0 of a carefully generated random sample of adults over the age of 16 years, in England and Wales was found to have had a complete clearance of all teeth. In Scotland the figure was 445/0. A recent survey reported by Dowell and Beal has shown that by 1977 the situation had improved in England and Wales, the percentage of toothless adults having fallen to 315/0 . Periodontal disease is no less prevalent. Some years ago, we examined 120 11-year-old children in a smallish London comprehensive school. Only one child was entirely clear of overt gingivitis. At this stage the condition is entirely reversible but the evidence supports the view that steps are not taken, generally speaking, to achieve this. In adults, periodontal destruction becomes the major reason for extraction in people over the age of about 30 years. 0037-9832/78/0400-0000 $02.00 ¸ 1978 Society of Cosmetic Chemists of Great Britain 227