DUMMY OR COMFORTER.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 712, 14 October 1914, Page 2

DUMMY OR COMFORTER.

There is no subject on which more protests reach me from branc? es of the Society, mothers and Plunket nurses, than the continued use of the Dummy, in spite of its injurious effects on the child. Of course, one sees less of ths dummy than formerly; but it is not disappearing anything like a? rapidly as another allied abomination—namely, the " long-tube feeder," though it is hard to say which is the more injurious, '

The Society has been asked to prepare an illustrated leaflet showing the damage done by the dummy to mouth, jaws *Eiid developing teeth; also the spoiling of the airway above the roof of the mouth., e*c;. It is contended that an authoritative leaflet would be a more effective deterrent in many quarters than personal argument. We are urged to force home the part played by the dummy, pot only in disfiguring the child for life and giving it a tendency to prominent upper front teeth,, and a weak, rab-bit-like face, but also in giving rise to. mouth-breathing and adenoids, indigestion, etc. ' * # No pains should be spared in this matter, and we hope to have a convincing leaflet available for issue before the end of the year. However, I may point out, in the meantime, that almost everything needing to be asid on the subject ia arleady explained and illustrated, on pageß IS2 to 138. and 140, 141 of the Society's book "Feeding and Care of Baby," from which 1 quote the following:— EXTRACT FROM SOCIETY'S BOOK.

"The' Society has been making strong efforts, to bring about tha abolition of the dummy, and has drawn tha attention of the Legislature to the extent and gravity of the evils resulting from ita use. Doc f ors and dentists are at one on thi3 matter. Every year the journals of both professions teem with references to ths evils of the 'Dummy Habit.' The abomination was scathingly.denounced at a recent Dental Congress, and the following extracts from, a letter since received by the Society from thw President of the New Zealand Dental Association need no. comment: —

In reply to your note concerning the Dummy, speaking from a dental point of view, there can be no doubt as to its evil effects. ... During early childhood the bonea are soft and easily -.moulded, so tha use of any such appliance as tha dummy is highly [ injurious. By its use the bone of both mouth and nose are involved. It is the cause, in most cases, of the contracted, or itfhat we call the V-shaped arch, interfering with proper dentition, causing the teeth to erupt irregularly and to be misplaced, one of the most frequent type, being protrusion, which in turn induces mouthbreathing and its train of evils, such as adenoids, enlarged tonsils, etc., thereby lowering the vitality of the child and rendering it more susceptible to disease of any and every, •. . .1 have said enough from the dental point of ' view alone to warrant the authorities in taking stpes to abolish the use of ,euch contrivances m the dummy. I fail to see any argument in its favour, especially when we .'consider that the haDit ia an acquired one. . Some years ago Dr T. F. Pedley, M.D.. published a striking article in the British Medical Journal giving the results of bi3 experiences in the Far East and his researches in England as to the baleful influence,of the "dummy" or "comforter." He said: Apart from its mechanical effects upon the jaws and teeth, its use is obnoxious ands, uncleanly, « for it introduces in to the child's mouth dirt and micro-organisms, and causes an abnormal secretion of saliva, detrimental to. digestion. Of course, the "comforter" must be abolished and forbidden; its use is injurious, and if resorted to after weaning, should be deemed an indictabla "offence. . , . Wherever Igo the extraordinary prevalence of the use of the dummy has astonished me. In,the streets or travelling by rail, I mßet this thing; the children playing on the sands have it in thsir mouths. In tens of thousands tha mischief has been done, they are shamefully disfigured for life. It seems to me that tha arrest of this evil is as deserving of the attention' of our legislators as many of the subjects to which they devote so much time and energy. Dr Piclcerill, Professor of Dentistry at Otago University, and the leading dentists of tha Old World and America, speak in similar terms as to the baleful influence of the "dummy," and this is confirmed by leading physicians and surgeons. WOMEN HARD TO MOVE! Men are r.ot far vrong when they say it is a hard job to get a wrong idea out of uur heads when once it has become firmly established, and harder still to get us to give up a bad habit. Indeed some of the Plunket nurses tell us that in the matter of the Dummy a leaflet wouH work more reform through the fathers-than through the mothers. I don't know whether theie is much to choose. Suppose we try to convert both'.