WORST TEETH IN WORLD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18277, 19 December 1922, Page 11

WORST TEETH IN WORLD

SOUTHERN BRITISH' PEOPLES.

CAUSE OF MUCH ILL-HEALTH.

FOOD AND ITS COOKING.

The food we e3t and our modes of -life were the reasons given by Mr. G. L. Taylor in his address befoe the members of (lie Rotary Club yesterday for t-tp present-day prevalence of dental disease.

At the present day it was found, said the speaker, that every uncivilised race. living the natural life was practically free from dental disease, whereas every rare that had reached a high state of civilisation with a correspondingly high standard of living suffered from dental disease to a more r£ less extent. The Engli hspeaking races had the worst teeth in the world, and in New Zealand and- Australia dental disease was more prevalent than anywhere. The general public did not seem t > realise what a serious handicap this was to the efficiency of the community or the people would take steps to alter their mode of living.

It was now generally recognised by the medical profession, he said, that defective teeth and septic mouths were directly responsible for a large proportion of digestive troubles- and indirectly responsible for quite a number cf systemic ailments The doctor and the dentist we-e working together on cases as they never did before, and it was- surprising, and, he thought, disheartening, to find hotv many cases of general disorder were cured by simply extracting the teeth. There was a- tendency in the present generation to adopt what we called a high standard :>f living. We selected soft. pulpy, highly-seasoned, and over-cooked f->od*. •-••hich were more concent rated and rasier of digestion but which did not afford the digestive organs tho necessary work and exercise they were intended to receive.

Mr. Taylor dealt with the work which is being done by. the Health Department, to improve the teeth of the children, and Raid that active propaganda was .absolutely essential if the people of New Zealand were to he convinced of the need for plainer and better foodstuffs, and said that the necessity for vigorous mastication ss a vital function could not be too strongly fmphasised. The diet should consist largely .of foods which gave due exercise to the parts provided by nature for this purpose, namely, the jaws, teeth, tongue, and salivary glands. Such exercise was not only necessary for the development o» these structures," but reacted favourably on the whole digestive tract. This being so. the eating of food such as stale bread. crusts, toast, raw apples and lettuce could not be too strongly advocated.