OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 1 March 1921, Page 51

OUR BABIES.

By

HYGEIA.

Published under the auspices nf the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health ■f Women and Children. “It is wiser to put up a tence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” CARE OF CHILDREN’S TEETH. The following are extracts from an excellent leaflet just issued by the Education Department. Parents should grasp the fact that a summary of this kind is not a mere visionary “counsel of perfection,” but represents the irreducible minimum to be taken seriously to heart by everyone charged with the fate of children. Attention to the simple matters drawn attention to would, as the leaflet contends, “add to the child’s vigour and happiness, and help to ensure hie future health and success in life.” DECAY OF TEETH CAN AND MUST BE PREVENTED IN THE INTER ESTS OF NATIONAL HEALTH. A clean mouth is more important than a clean face. Care of the child’s teeth will add to his vigour and happiness, and help to ensure bis future health and success in life. T —DECAYED TEETH CAUSE ILLHEALTH. 1. Bad teeth can give rise to such diseases as blood-poisoning, consumption, pneumonia, diphtheria, rheumatism, tonsillitis, and many others, because — (a) Disease-germs multiply rapidly in a, decaying tooth. The minute germs of the diseases mentioned may lodgo there and multiply by thousands in a few hours. (b) Disease-germs can enter the body through a decayed tooth. The de-

cayed spot communicates with minute vessels that enter into the bloodstream and the tissues of the body. 2. Bad teeth cause stomach troubles, because poisonous material and germs are swallowed with every mouthful of food. This causes indigestion, bad breath, poor general health, and liability to disease as mentioned above. S. Bad teeth render chewing difficult or impossible, and food which _is not thoroughly chewed and mixed .with tfle saliva causes indigestion, constipation, and appen- j dicitis. . 4. Bad teeth cause toothache, and chronic . toothache makes children nervous and irritable. lI—TO DEVELOP STRONG TEETH. . 1. When a baby is born the buds of all the teeth, both first and second, are present under the gums, and ill-health and poor feeding interfere with their development. For the building of strong teeth in the baby the best food is the mother’s milk. Breast feeding is extremely important for the proper development of the jaws and nose, and for the prevention of adenoids. (See the Plunket Society’s booklets.) 2. During the second year and onwards tho more dry, hard food a child can be induced to masticate the better —crusts, oatcake, oven-dried whole-meal bread. White bread should be avoided. Wheatmeal bread and oatmeal foods contain elements essential, for the building of strong teeth which a"re not contained in white bread. (See circular “Suggestions to Parents.”) Vigorous chewing during the growing period is absolutely essential for the proper development of the jaws. With a good set of teeth the habit of vigorous mastication becomes second nature, and soft food seems tasteless and unattractive. lII.—TO PREVENT DECAY. 1. Food lying in the crevices of the teeth ferments and forms an acid. This acid eats through the enamel and thus makes an entrance for germs of decay. This can be prevented by—(a) Avoiding foods which stick in and clog the teeth, especially chocolate, biscuits, cake, white bread, sweets, etc. Such food should never be eaten between meals. (b) Finishing each meal with acid fruit, such as an apple or orange, which stimulates a cleansing flow of saliva. The saliva dissolves and washes away food particles and directly counteracts decay. (c) Regular cleansing of the teeth. The teeth should be gently brushed after each meal, upwards and downwards on the outer and inner surfaces and across the biting surfaces, to dislodge food particles. The brushing of the biting surfaces of the back teeth is specially important. Use plain water, or, much better, the fruit-acid tooth-wash, obtainable from chemists, which has the same effect as acid fruit in stimulating a cleansing flow of saliva. Children like it and look forward to having their teeth brushed with it. The cleasing of the teeth after the last meal of the day or before going to bed is most important. It is especially during sleep that food particles ferment in the mouth and cause decay. IV. —DECAYED TEETH SHOULD BE TREATED. 1. Watch for signs of decay, and, if possible, have the teeth inspected by a dentist once or twice a year. It costs nothing and may prevent much ill-health. 2. The first permanent molars come through about the sixth year, immediately behind the temporary teeth. They do not replace any of the temporary teeth, and therefore are generally mistaken for temporary teeth. These are permanent teeth, and are the largest and most important in , the mouth, arid should on no account be allowed to decay. Their extraction greatly , alters the shape of the face and jaw. 3. Have the first teeth treated if decay occurs. This is very necessary, as decay J of the first teeth interferes with the development of the permanent set, and of the 7 body, at a most critical period of the 1 child’s life. r 4. Have a decaying tooth treated at once. Delay is disastrous, as one bad tooth infects , the mouth and causes decay of others. If ' the decay is extensive the tooth may have to be extracted. This is a calamity, be--1 cause missing teeth interfere with mastiJ cation, interfere with the growth of the jaw, I and spoil the shape of the face. > 5. Artificial teeth are a miserable substil tute for sound natural teeth. Natural = teeth can exert a biting pressure of 2501 b; artificial teeth only 501 b or less. ' REMEMBER— A child with had teeth swallows poison with each mouthful of food. A dirty mouth and foul breath are most repulsive, as well as injurious to health. The >eoth should be brushed at the very least once a day, especially after the last meal. The fruit-acid tooth-wash is a valuable preventive of decay. If a tooth decays treat it at once. Decay of the teeth is the greatest cause of disease, and parents are urged to give this matter their most careful attention.