DECAY OF TEETH

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 151, 23 December 1938, Page 15

DECAY OF TEETH

REMAINS A MYSTERY

WHY CARE IS NEEDED

There must be something wrong With our mode of living, because tooth tie-.., cay is so common, writes Dr» Irving :J Cutter in the 'Chicago Tribune." It._is a strange anomaly that the. hardest ■ tissue in the body—the enamel—which. 0 covers and protects these structures, .^ will yield so readily to subtle but un-r*." known forces. Every other part off the body may be functioning at par.when —10, and behold —one tooth after another will give way .. % Bad teeth are not only a source ot ," discomfort—nuisances of the first watef ;\' —but they may endanger heaith—evefr"; life. Because there are so many hooks* and crannies about them where organ* ' isms may hide and produce pus, ihey : present a constant menace. At any"/ given moment —unless every tusk is"" clean and free irom infection—the.,'* situation within the mouth may be a»:", dangerous potentially as an attack at;;, pneumonia or typhoid fever. v Most children when they are a yea* oid have si* or eight teeth, sixteea y when they are a year and qne«half,and the full set of twenty at two and--one-half. Between the fifth and seven;; milestones and seven year molars mak*" their appearance., Thereafter the baby..,,. ones begin to drop out and are replaced - by the. permanent set i. WHAT DOES OECAX MEAN? What do we mean by decay? Merely solution or disintegration of the bony, material, including the tissues of th&'£ pulp. But when one asks why, no • positive answer is forthcoming. Thfcr, chances are that there are many i ae- j tors, some of which may be related to S the endocrine glands, others to bacteria, -j still others to dietary elements such dsl vitamins. Assuming that the tooth i&s normal when it erupts, it should not" decay. But a perfectly clean molar: may do so and sometimes the agents? of destruction and erosion will attacks one that looks perfect more quickly^ than one that is badly stained, possibly,,, inhabiting a foul mouth. , :■ There was a time when hygieni&ts, taught that starches and sugars were, primarily responsible, due to the tet^mentation Of these substances with the^ production of organic acids. But there" is far mora-to the subject than this."1 Persuaded B? the slogan, "acid mouth»"< many persons will 1; suck alkalitte? lozenges all day long, much to the con-. sternation of the, gastric juice—and with; no advantage to the teeth*. No matterwhat is done, what precautions a*©,, adopted, caries may come iust thef same. ■'.-':> This does hot mean that a clean oral;* cavity is hot desirable—far from it. But the answer of our problem does not Ue^: in this situation alone. One fact is> fully established—namely! that vitamin^ D and a reasonable supply of phOs-TS phorus and calcium are necessary to - the formation of stout ivories.. MUST BE iMAINfcAINED. Furthermore, these elements mufct be maintained—not excessively, hoWever —throughout life. As is Well known, the chewing apparatus starts developing long before birth, and this is the reason that the menu -of • the prospective mother must contain fell of the bone building elements^ Perhaps the fault occurs in early infancy if milk is not assimilated, if a sufficient quantity oi phosphorus and calcium »te not to be had, or if vitamin D*fesß6htial for their distribution and Assimilation —is absent. We cannot look upon the first set as unimportant If micrdbes are allowed to grow about them, if gums" hre allowed to become soft, to harbour pus pockets if cavities are untreated, the same injury to health may occur as with an adult. Many a case of acute rheumatic fever and resulting heart disease has been traced to extensive bacterial colonies within these childhood molars. Furthermore, the position of the permanent followers and their condition and strength depend in large measure upon the care that is given their predecessors. We can add materially to our national health bank deposits by taking every child—as soon as the first set has erupt-ed-^-to a skilled dentist TW6 visits a year will safeguard growth. There i» Just as ,much need for the practice of preventive dentistry as there is of preventive medicine.