Nice White Teeth.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 978, 28 November 1890, Page 4

Nice White Teeth.

(By Dora).

An up.coaatry correspondent writes i —‘ We often see good complexions and pleasant faces, but very seldom see nice white teeth with these qualities. lam sure a few hints from you on this snbject would be interesting to more than one reader.* My correspondent has raised a very important question. It is unfortunately only too true that really fins white teeth are not frequently met with. I noticed this mora especially during the Toole season—when the whole of the audience in the dress circle were laughing at Toole’s soreaming farces. MaDV rows of teeth were displayed, and even a moderately powerful opera glass revealed the faot that few sets of teeth could be described as ‘ nice white teeth.’

Nothing sets a woman’s face to greater advantage than ruddy lips which, when open, disclose • pearly teeth,’ and yet we seldon see them. Naturally a woman’s teeth should be * pearly,’ but generally they are not. There aie several reasons to account for this. In the first place the condition of the teeth depends to a great extent upon the state of the health. The stomach is the great enemy of the teeth. That delicate organ is frequently out of order from a variety of causes, and so long as the stomaoh is disorganised it is almost impossible to keep the teeth in a nice wbit6 condition.

To ensure teeth keeping in their highest state of perfection the health of the body must be kept sound. Indigestion must be avoided by the use of suitable diet. The daily practise of a cold bath is nearly always shown on a woman by the healthy appear, ance of her teeth and gums. One of the first signs of teeth beginning to get discoloured is the accumulation of what is known as ‘ tartar.’ It is a deposit of the salts of lime and organic matter from the saliva, and usually occurs most abundantly on the lower front teeth. If it is suffered to accumulate it causeß inflammation and absorbtion of the gums and the gradual loosening of the teeth.

The accumulation of this substance may be usually prevented if due attention is paid to the cleaning of the teeth. They should be cleaned three times a day. Iu the morning upon rising use a moderately stiff brush—not one too hard for it weakens the enamel—with a soft tooth powder. Then scrub them well with a little soap on the brush, and wash the mouth out with water. At mid.day use the powder only, and at night before retiring again use the powder and soap. Of tooth-powders,. their names are legion. The basis of nearly all the ordinary toothpowders is precipitated chalk, with harmless colouring matter and perfume added—powdered gum myrrh, powdered orris root, powdered camphor— are frequenly used. Each of these ingredients are innocuous, they have but little power in whitening the teeth, they merely produce a pleasant taste in the mouth.

Gritty tooth-powders should be avoided. Some of them contain silioa in one form or another, and they act merely as mechanical cleanerß, scratching the enamel as sand scratches a silver fork. The perfect toothpowder shonld be soft as flour, and aot partly as a chemical cleaner and partly as a mechanical one. Yegetableoharcoal, although frequently recommended as a dentifrice, should, as a rule, be avoided, a 3 it contains particles of silicates which tend to destroy the enamel.

One of the best tooth-powders is the ordinary precipitated chalk. It is a pure carbonate of lime, and is frequently to advantage mixed with an equal propoition of cream of tartar—which is a * bitartrate of potash,’an excellent remedy for chemically counteracting the tartar accumnlation on the teeth. Another valuable ingredient is • boracic acid * a preparation of borax, a very useful antiseptic, correcting any unpleasant odours arising from decayed teeth. Each of these ingredients are perfectly harmless. When teeth are discoloured it is sometimes a difficult task to make them pearly. If the tartar has accumulated and hardened, a visit to the dentist will be necessary to have the teeth 'scaled,’ that is, having the tartar scraped away with instruments. The operation is a painless one. If the teeth are only‘temporarily discoloured the following remedies will be found very useful: Rub the teeth with a slice of a fresh cut lemon, or some ripe strawberries, or use ordinary table salt as a toothpowder. Take a piece of willow wood, burn it into hard charcoal, rub the discoloured portion of the teeth with it and they will speedily become white.

Two tooth brushes should be in use while the teeth are not perfectly white. The first one should be moderately stiff, and the other soft. Never use a very hard brush. In choosing the soft brush see that the hairs are not too closely set, so that they may penetrate the better into the interstices of the teeth. The main point of clean white teeth is first, sound bodily health, and, secondly, constant care, and then a woman’s smile will disclose ‘ a string of pearls set in rnbies.’