Report of the Director-General of Health / Commonwealth of Australia.

  • Australia. Department of Health
Date:
[1958]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Director-General of Health / Commonwealth of Australia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    135/148 (page 133)
    Standards for local anaesthetic solution, impression paste, modelling wax, synthetic resin teeth, casting investment and dental X-ray film are almost completed and standards for several other materials are in various stages of development. Through the Federation Dentaire Internationale, international specifications for inlay wax, denture base polymer and silicate cement are about to be adopted. Assistance has also been given the Specifications Committee of the International Association for Dental Research in its standards programme. TESTING An analysis of the testing carried out during the period gave the total number of samples for which reports were issued as 731 with the following distribution:— Mineral products . . . . . . .. . . 55 Cements . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Waxes and impression materials . . . . . . 65 Synthetic resins . . . . . . . . . . 151 Metals and alloys . . . . . . . . . . 251 Instruments . . . . . . .. . . 26 Surgical and therapeutic materials . . . . . . 115 Of these, 99 samples were tested for public instrumentalities, 49 for overseas firms and the remainder chiefly for Australian firms. RESEARCH Investigations have continued on various aspects of the hygroscopic expansion of casting investments, the setting of gypsum plasters, the welding and soldering of orthodontic wires, and the properties of amalgam fillings. In relation to the development or revision of Australian Standards investigations have been conducted on the testing of stainless steel wire and solders, the controlled preparation of amalgam specimens, the testing of porcelain teeth, dental burs and impression materials. Other projects include the accuracy of impression materials, the behaviour of orthodontic elastics, temperatures within inlay rings, the strength of gypsum pro¬ ducts and various manufacturing investigations. INFORMIATION Considerable assistance on a wide variety of topics has been given in a consulta¬ tive or lecturing capacity to dental schools, dentists individually and collectively, and to manufacturers and distributors of dental materials. Government organiza¬ tions have sought advice on a number of items. Lectures and demonstrations have been given to a number of groups throughout Victoria and in Brisbane and Launceston. A special exhibit on the work of the Bureau was staged in conjunction with the 15th Australian Dental Congress held in Adelaide during February, 1959. GENERAL Since the site occupied was required by the University of Melbourne for other purposes, the Bureau has removed to premises in 18-26 Lonsdale-street, Melbourne. The building gives increased space, new laboratory and general facilities and controlled atmospheric conditions essential for testing and research work.