The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1911. TEETH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 18, 15 July 1911, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, JULY 15, 1911. TEETH.

To modern civilised man teeth are a trouble from the time lie is a few montht old to the time he can masticate no longer. He has probably arrived at the conclusion that it is not natural for his eyes to fall out or his nose to drop like a ripe plum, or his toes to depart in sections, but that it is inevitable that his teeth (which arc as important as any of these organs) must die before he dies. The natural man who feeds on natural foods and does natural things takes no more wire to prevent his teeth from decaying than he does to prevent his linger nails dropping off. There is no better basic reason for the decay of one than the decay of the other. Whatever Nature's reasons are, the civilised people are becoming increasingly toothless. The student of evolution must conclude that Nature is gradually planning a toothless being, seeing that he at present is early in life given masticating furniture which he never adequately uses. She will in process of time—unless civilised man uses his teeth, give him nothing to grow them on, and he will lose his omnivorous characteristic and obtain his sustenance by suction. That is, at least, one scientific theory. The scientific dentist—whose chief business, if he is an honest man, is to save the life of every tooth that is ill—is not able to convert man to the mode of life that would save his teeth. If he counselled his patients, for instance, to leave off eating bread, soup, soft fish, soft meat, soft anything, and revert to the savage method of holding a bone in the hand and tearing the meat off with the teeth, masticating raw corn, and otherwise exerting his mouth furniture to their tremendous natural capacity, ho would be regarded as a lunatic. He has to fall back, therefore, on "oral hygiene," tooth salvation by scientific methods and artificial replenishment of dead teeth. Dr. Alexander Paterson, of Christehurch, lately lectured on the vast importance of teeth—natural teeth. He, of course, spoke of "oral hygiene," the only method left to civilised man. He said that parents regarded the services j of a. dentist as a luxury. Such service's are a luxury, and it is because of the expensiveness of the luxury that there are so many "broken-mouthed" people about. The idea of, say, a £2 lOs-a-week man with a family being able to pay many pounds for dental services is unthinkable. Consequently he often takes his rotten teeth with him to the grave, and his children's mouths arc as neglected as his own for the same reason. Sixty million artificial teeth are made each year, and they go into the mouths of people who ought to have no need for them. "Every one of those teeth preaches a little sermon on national decay, for the people who can't masticate properly have not "good lives." The urgent necessity of skilled dentistry for young people seems to be recognised by the Government, which, however, does nothing about it. Perhaps fifty per cent, of all the children in our schools nee"3 dental treatment. Their parents either do not care or cannot afford treatment. The Government that insists on human beings keeping their backyards clean does not insist on the "front doors" being in health. Many cases of disease are simply the result of malnutrition consequent on bad teeth. They go to the hospitals. Dental cases should go to the hospital'before bodily disease sets in. As Dr. Paterson said, it is imperative that there should be a dental ward at every public hospital. If the rot is to be stopped it is imperative, too, that everything should be done to save children's teeth. The parent who believes his children are getting well fed because they are given an adequate quantity of food, is misguided, supposing the children's teeth are had. To fill yourself with food that is not masticated is as sensible as putting coal in a firebox, forgetting to light it, and expecting it to develop steam for an

engine. If Dr. Paterson's idea of scattering pamphlets oh oral hygiene broadcast is adopted, maybe people will begin to believe that teeth are as important as eyea or hands or feet, and that one natural tooth is worth a barrel of artificial ones. But in the toothsaving race, it is necessary to begin on fifty per cent, of New Zealand children who are handicapped for life by being unable to masticate adequately.