DIET BLAMED

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 147, 23 June 1928, Page 11

DIET BLAMED

FOR DENTAL DISEASE J PROBLEM: OF DIETETICS ' ( "It is my intention to offer a few general remarks on *the problems that ■ confront members of our profession, in .' their service to the community,'' said Mr. G. Lawrence Taylor in the course of his .'presidenital. address to the Dentists' Conference to-day. - ' . ... "The conference wo aro opening today is unique in: tho history of. the New Zealand Dental Association*" he said. "When it was suggested, in May of last year by one of our mem; b'ers who had lately returned „ from America that a number of our confreres from-that great country might be induced to travel across the eight thousand miles of ocean and help with this meeting in 1928, the proposal, while meeting with th©. unanimous approval of , members,.'seemed too ambitious to succeed. ; And yet, thanks to bur guests who responded so nobly to tho call, thanks to Dr. D. Gwinn and Dr. Guy Millbery, Dean of tho ./University of California, who did so much in organising the trip, and thanks also to the untiring efforts of tho members of our central executive, tho. proposal has born fruit. ■ " ..- . . :.' '■".The art of dentistry has been.practised among all civilised races for thousands of years; there is evidence of it even in the days of iho early Egyptians, , but-at no period in history has the skill of the. dentist beon;so much in demand as it.is at tho present .day. During the last thirty years dental disease has become much more prevalent, among all-,highly civilised races. To cope with it immense sums havo.boen gpont on dental.education, until to-day dentistry has taken a place among tho most skilled professions. While everything possible is being done in this way to eope'with the disease, I am ploased to note that many of Jhe leading men in the profession are devoting a great deal of their time to dontal' research,' with , a .view: to ascertaining the causes of dental'. r disoas/e, so r that .science '. may know how: it' can' tfe "prevented, and '^prevention is better than cure..' Quite a lot has been written during the past few-years by eminent men on this subject, and the consensus of, opinion seems to be that as soon as we insist on elir minating harmful foods from our diet, arid.| alter- our modes, of life so that ihfiy .are in accord with the laws of health, .the .race will again enjoy.immunity from dental disease. It would be impracticable to decide on one definite class of diet for all races, as the requirements depend a good deal on the climate and habits of life. Thus the Eskimo subsists mainly on meats and fat, the Hindu on fruits and vegetables, and yet both are practically immune from dental disease. What is required is a well-balanced diet after ■ careful study., has been given to the metabolic system of. the race. In tho most civilised countries where there is a, high standard of living and people can procure so many rich palatable delicacies, we find dental disease at its worst, unless; it has been cheeked by i organised propaganda after a careful, study of dietetics.. It would be difficult to find a more suitable country than ' New1 Zealand for dontal research. Wo. have the Maori, who prior to the arrival of the white man1 had perfect teeth, and yet to-day where ho has adopted our, European food and customs, the Maori suffers quite as, much from dental caries'and pyorrhoea as the average inhabitant. In no country in the world is dental disease more prevalent than in New Zealand. The standard of living is high, and the public as a body have not learned to discriminate in tho matter of diet. ,1 make bold to state that ove> 30 per cent, of our population between.the ages of 35 and 50 years is i suffering or has suffered from pyorroea alveoiaris, and I make that statement after careful observation extending, over many years. We know what a farreaching effect this dreaded disease has on the general health of the individual; arid yet the carelessness exercised in the average household in1 choice of diet does nothing to mitigate prevalence of the disease. A very efficient school dontal service has been in operation in New Zealand for the past eight years under the Department of Dental Hygiene. A largo proportion of the younger children are not only receiving free dental treatment, but they also receive instruction in dental hygine and dietetics. Instructive pamphlets are sent into, the homes,, and ■if parents would only sco that rules contained therein wore carried out, particularly in relation to diet, there would be some hope for the rising generation being less susceptible to dental /disease." , . . , '