Sir, – Children in the 1950s and 1960s lost their teeth for reasons that had nothing to do with fluoride and tap water. In the 1950s I was called from my classroom and told to take two of my younger sisters to Sligo hospital to see the dentist. The dentist pulled four of my teeth and my sisters suffered the same fate. One of my sisters fainted and fell. I was told to take her outside to faint. She still carries a scar on her face. We witnessed a surgeon coming out from an operating theatre, not a pretty sight. We were sent back to school. We were traumatised.
Our parent’s permission was not sought for us to see the dentist, let alone for the extractions. Our mother was extremely angry. She would not have allowed such treatment of her children. – Yours, etc,
MAURA DONNELLY,
King Edward Lawn,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.