1 1
Dentist  Shortage Most Serious Here
By JARVIS WHITNEY Citizen Staff Reporter
Only one word � desperate � de-scrib.es Prince George's dental-care problems.
Nearly a million teeth in the city and surrounding area must be pulled, tilled, filed, scraped and polished by only five dentists.
It cause:-; a dentist about as much agony as you have yourself if you happen to need aii emergency extraction or filling.
There are not enough dentists because dental graduates don't want to practice here and there isn't a dental faculty at the University of B.C.
Generally speaking, a rapidly-increasing population has forgotten it needs dentists.
And there is little relief in sight.
Prince George's five dentists are "booked up" more than a year in advance, even at. handling between 20 and 25 patients each day.
They report there is little relief in
sight as efforts in recent years to entice new dentists to practice in Prince George have been fruitless.
University contacts, advertisements in professional publications and help from dental supply companies have failed to bring more dentists here.
However, slight relief may be forthcoming as the Prince George and District Dental Society, an organization of the city's five, over-worked dentists, is trying to pemiade two last-year dental students to come here after graduation. The problem basically centers around two factors: Dentists prefer the southern climates to conditions in the Prince George area and there are not enough "home-grown" dentists to fill local needs. A school of dentistry at URC would be one answer to the latter problem.
A meeting of local dentists yesterday, called to discuss the issue with The Citizen, heard a report that the Prince George area could easily support more than double the current number of dentists.'
Shortage Felt Everywhere
Doctors J. D. Newby, W. J. Aitken, .1. D. Mcliinis, .1. A. Thorsness and Dr. D. E. Waller, who practice in the city, serve patients who come here from as far away as the Pine Pass, Burns Lake and Quesnel.
However, there are two dentists at Quesnel, Dawson Creek and Fort St. John. There is only one dentist at Van-derhoof, Smithers, Burns Lake and Williams Lake.
The ratio of dentists to population in the area is about one to 5,000, white the national ratio is about one to ,".,000. The accepted proportion is one to 1,500.
Canadian Dental Association figures show the situation is becoming more critical across the nation but in the Prince George area the "boom" of recent j'ears has made the problem even more serious.
Canada, with 5,500 dentists, cannot begin to produce enough dentists yearly to even keep pace with the rise in population, the Association says.
For each new dent.'st there* are 0,000
more jwople tociivc Jor^~
The problem in this area is multiplied by a sharp population increase and complicated by accelerated industrial activity in recent years.
Local dentists say the situation is "desperate".
They say the first step which must be taken to relieve the problem is the establishment of a school of dentistry at UBC.
The university's m e d i c a 1 faculty-turned out its first graduates in 1955 and Prince George dentists feel dentist-training facilities should be provided on the same campus.
Teaching personnel and laboratories used for the school of medicine could be tied in with dentistry training.
Even when this is done, British Columbians will have to wait at least five years for the .first graduates for the school to offer some relief to the situation.
A dental faculty would cost about $2,000,000 to establish and first-year expenses would be approximately $400,-ooo. � <'i^ir-     ,->�>-      �  � � s* �
CITIZEN PHOTOGRAPHER Hal Vandervoort caught city works employees in action yesterday blasting a drainage canal from the Victoria Street slough to the Nechako river. Over 130 feet were channelled with the use of 150 pounds of "ditching" dynamite, a special chain-reaction explosive which rips a huge trench in the boggy river bed. The trenching; four feet deep and six feet wide, supplements 200 feet of drainage ditch cut last fall. Blasting is expected "to be finished within the next week because crews are aDoroaching buildings and must use a machine to finish the job. However, they may have to wait until freeze-up next year to get a machine into the muskeg. The canal is a winter works project.
Dedicated to the Progress of The North
Dentists Sense 'Resentment'
Due to the shortage of dental care in Prince George, the dentists report they arc being shown some resentment. They stress they can ". . . only do so much in a day." They also report that steady patients are given some preference over patients who may never be treated again.
A noticeable improvement has been shown in children's teeth since Prince George adopted fluoridation of its water supply about four years ago. Even more improvement is expected at the end of a six-year period among children who have cons u m e d fluoridated water throughout their lives.
A two-thirds reduction in decay is almost the maximum benefit which can be derived from artificial fluorides they say.
Because of the many appointments facing locnl dentists, it is often necessary for them to pull teeth which could have been saved by a filling if treatment had been available earlier.
Beside crowded dental faculties else-)where in Canada and the U.S. and the .lack of dental training at UBC, the ex-:;ijpense of dental studies discourages many -high school students from going into vtlie profession.
I Two years  pre-dental  training  at
U1K' and four years of dental studies
at the University of Toronto cost about
$3,000 for tuition, texts and instruments,
exclusive of living costs, which would
X)Ost the figure to near S7.000.
�Where are now  47 undergraduate
en'tal   students   from  B.C.  attending
dental schools at other Canadian universities, 19 of whom are at the University of Alberta. They represent about 5.7 per cent of Canada's dental students. A ratio of these students to British Columbia's population shows there is only one future dentist for every 33,000 population.
This ratio does not include IS B.C. students in United States' dental schools. This compares to a national ratio of one to just over 20,000.
Local dentists say it would be foolish to lower the admission and examination standards of existing dental schools in an effort to produce more graduates.*
They claim only the public would suffer in the end.
Canada has one practicing dentist for every 2.932 people, the U.S. has one in 1,671 citizens and Sweden has one dentist for every 1,700.
In 195S there were 203 graduates from Canadian dental schools.
In November, the Canadian Dental Association said: "This number, when related to the indicated number of deaths and retirements, together with the estimated increase in population for. the current year wil result in probable worsening of the ratio of dentists to the population."
While this is the trend across the entire nation Prince George is suffering a more acute shortage of dentists and appointments continue to climb.
Without assistance soon, or should the city lose any of its dentists, the situation could become grave.
Vol.  3;   No.  64
�PRINCE GEORGE,  BRITISH COLUMBIA,  FRIDAY, APRIL 3,   1959
 Phone LO 4-2441
Record Buikling
Program Seen Here This Year
Prince George's building prc gram is on the way to reachin a' record this year.
Value of permits issued i the city in the first thro months of 1059 exceeds figure reached for the same period i any previous year.
Building Inspector Edition Ncff reported today that pei mlts have been granted fo some $(383,000 worth of build ings since January 1. Then were $215,292 worth issued ii March.
The previous record year was 195S  when  $523,062  worth permits were issued in the city
Permits were granted for th construction  of  16  homes  in March this year.
The figure reflects a treni. foreseen in the construction industry here 18 months ago.
Spring Was Three Weeks ead of Expected Date
Receive Gold Cords
Four Prince George Girl Guides yesterday received Gold Cord presentations from Lieu tenant-Governor Frank M. Ross.
Netannis King, Barbara Shiels, Arlene Goodkey and Judith Rol-ston were honored at ceremonies held in Government House at Victoria.
Judith, who took her Guide course by correspondence, received special mention. Her home it at Rose Lake, west of Prince George near Burns Lake.
They were accompanied to Victoria by Mrs. F. W. Dobsqn and Mrs. G. F. Merrick.
season    which >esn't    arrive    hero  than a month after pis year came about !"ee.ks before  the official �Hpcording to weather 'r-rcviewiT Vie Beirnes. lay conic as a surprise p. who   liave   shivered '31   chilly,   damp   and .unplciisant days. .� Beirnes has a coun-^B't forget the
 ays.
teirns was revers-mat ion of "spring-ight" to "warm romance."
warm  nights raturo  u-;is  2;i iiial�pushed  temperature
to seven degrees above normal, despite cold, windy days.
WAKMEST MARCH
This was the warmest March since 19-11. Average temperature for this March was 34.1 degrees, as compared to an average of 27.0 and to the March Ml figure of :?7.2.
Coldest March ever recorded here was I!io5 with an average of 17.4 degrees.
The mercury hit a high of 52 on March 31, three degrees below the average high, and slipped to 13 degrees on March 13, 23 degrees above normal.
On every clay of the month, the temperature went above the freezing point, and on six days it went below 20 degrees.
Rainfall, with .30 inches, wus
approximately one quarter of an inch below normal. Snowfall of S.2 inches was normal.
Highest March precipitation on record was 4.48 inches in 1913 while the lowest was .37 inches in 1921. The winter snowfall to date is one and a half inches below last year's during the same period. At the end of March last year eight inches of snow covered the ground at the airport, compared with only a trace this year.
The sun shone for 130.S hours, slightly above average but far below the March record of 172 hours in 1940. Three days during the month had no measurrable sunshine and seven days had less than one hour.
See 'Spring', Page 3
ion Counts
Nine sawmills in Northern B.C. have been convicted of polluting streams with industrial refuse.
Fish and Game Department officials said today most of the charges were laid under the Fisheries Act when the operations were discovered contaminating fish-bearing waters with bark, sawdust and other refuse.
Convictions, have been judged against Allan Shaw, Riverb'ank Sawmills, Roy Willick and Summit Lake Sawmills all of the Fort St. James area, Black Brothers Sawmills of Fort Fraser and Summit Lake Sawmill, West Lake Sawmill, Merton Lake Sawmill and Hansard Lumber Co. of Prince Quprae.
Mr.   Neff   said   t ho   record figure reached so far this year is "only scratching the surface" of what can be expected durin the summer months.
False UIC Statements
The National Employment Service is beginning to crack down on false declarations on unemployment insurance benefit books.
An NES spokesman said today the government is "taking a dim view" of people drawing benefits on the strength of false statements.
Prosecutions against offenders have been mounting rapidly in the last three months, the spokesman said.
Latest in a number of convictions was handled in city police court Wednesday.
Manfred Risch, 30, of 927 Ewart Street, was given 10 fines of S10 each when he pleaded guilty to failing to declare earnings while drawing nsurance benefits.
Car Theft Counts
Two Prince George juveniles charged with stealing two car. in the district April 1, hay been remanded for sentence i �Juvenile Court.
While they were awaiting sen tence on tho car theft count police nabbed them stealing eai parts in the downtown area.
Furniture Slashed
Police arc today searching for :i person who broke into a South Fort George house trailer, out up the furniture with a large knife and smashed dishes.
The incident occurred Wednesday.
Furniture in the trailer is lamaged beyond repair, owner Karl Jensen told police.
Jensen wasn't living in the railer at the time.
Another South Fort George I'ome was the victim of vandals who smashed its windows the same day. The house is owned by a Mrs. Ferris who resides on Fourth Street.
Local Tag Day To Help Loggers
Prince George and District Labour Council will seek permission for a tag- day to aid striking Newfoundland loggers.
President Jacob Hoist told The Citizen today that City Council will be petitioned for a tag day "at the earliest possible time".
A special Labour Council committee organizing the clothing drive for the idle Newfoundland loggers decided at a meeting this week to supplement the drive with a tag day.
Mr. Hoist reports a "fair" response to the clothing drive, which has been underway about a week.
He says the council now has 100 pounds of clothing, enough for one shipment, as well as a large amount of used footwear.
Clothing being donated by Prince George and district people is coming into the Council offices daily and it will be shipped to Newfoundland in 100-pound lots as soon as it accumulates, Mr. Hoist said.
Prince George's 4,435 power consumers may soon have to pay more lor their electricity, if a B.C. Power Commission request for an eight per cent increase in its residential rate is approved. �
The demand for higher rates was made yesterday before the Shrum royal commission investigating the power commission.
Acting general manager R. C. McMordie told the Shrum commission that an "immediate upward revision-of rates" was essential if the publicly-owned utility is to continue on a self-sustaining basis.
The power commission also asked for an average increase of 10 per cent commercial power rates, and a 5.7 per cent, increase in the general form of power rates.
Mr. McMordie said the additional revenue is necessary to meet a forecast, deficit of S3,100,-000 for the next two years.
Mi-. -McMordie said in his brief it was considered imprudent � as a measure of avoiding any increase in rates� to charge the forecast $3,400,000 leficits against the present total of about $3,000,000 in re-servo funds.
Under its terms of reference he Shrum royal commission is
required to report oh the necessity � if any � for a power rate increase to BCFC customers.
Mr. McMordie said the proposed rate change should become effective not later than June 1, and asked for the royal commission report on rates by April 30.
Dr. Shrum said any recommendations concerning rale changes would be in the form of an interim repent. Filial report on the royal commission in-quiry into B.C; Power Commission operations isn't expected until .sometime in July.
Of the '1,435 consumers in Prince George, about .'50 per cent are classified as "R3" or heavy equipment users, while 70 perserit are "R2" or light power users.
An earlier forecast prepared
by the power commission puts the deficits at about S(>,500,000 and it. was on this basis that the government was asked to approve a rate Increase of 12 per cent. The request was refused.
Your Citizen
Edward Dupre, 12-year-old