fare of the Milk Teeth.

Otago Witness, Issue 2572, 1 July 1903, Page 80

fare of the Milk Teeth.

Few persons realise what an important part the teeth play in the preservation of health. We all know that life is maintained by th© food we take, and we also know that food must be digested before it can be taken into the system and form new tissues. This digestion is effected within the body by the action of various digestive fluids, but the- food mut*t be cut and ground by the teeth before these fluids can come into contact with every part of it, and without serviceable teeth this first act of digestion cannot be properly performed.

If the teeth are co important their preservation is surely a matter for which it is worth while to tab? a little trouble, but •they can be po-eseved only by beginning early in life, and beginning right. Parents are too apt to nogkot their childrenV fir^t teeth. They know that they are bound to drop out in time, whatever care is taken of them, so it seems foolish to fill them or take any special pains to make them last. But there is many a misshapen mouth that bears witness to the fallacy of that reasoning. The milk-teeth are needed io keep a place for the permanent teeth, and if they arc lost prematurely the jaw will not grow properly, and the new teeth will be so crowded that they must turn sidewise or be forcpd out of line. Furthermore, the child's food must be maetic&ted as well as tJio grown person's if ho would be saved from a life of dyspepsia. And finally, foi the sako of the permanent teeth, the cluld should early form habits of mouth cleanliness.

When teeth com? they should' ho cleaned regularly with a Foft cloth and warm water, a.nd as soon as the child is old enough he Fhould; have a little tooth-brush and be 'taught now to use it twice a day. This will help to keep the tender teeth from decay ; but more than that, \t will inculcate in the child the \irtuo of mouth cleanlinrs.s, and teach him hygienic habits which will stand him in good strad his life long.

If, in snita of care, the milk-teeth begin to decay, they should not bo extracted, but should be filled, so as to keep them from fa'Jing until the permanent teeth are ready to protrude The child's mouth Fhould be examined; \by a dentist once or twire every year, co that the- tartar may be removed, mnd any epot of beginning decay may be detected and; treated.