CARE OF THE TEETH.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 17125, 29 October 1917, Page 6

CARE OF THE TEETH.

By C. DOSWELL WALLIS, L.D.S.,

R.C.S. ENG. M M.I.H

THE RELATION. BETWEEN TEETH AND DISEASE, SHOWING THE INFLUENCE OJL< THE CONDITION OF THE MOUTH ON GENERAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION.

A Talk given to Mothers at the" Welcome" Centres established at Arundel and Litliehampton by the Duchess of Norfolk, in connection with Infant Welfare and Maternity Work in the District.

Good health, and indeed, our continuing to live at all, wholly depends upon nutrition —that is, in tho building up of tiie nourishment contained in our food into various parts of the body.

This is not possible without taking tho greatest care to eat the right sort of food, to keep the mouth healthy, and the teeth in good order.

Tho mouth has been truly called the '; gateway of the body," as'through it passes ail the food eaten, and a good deal of the air breathed. It should be well watched and guarded.

If the mouth is in an. unsatisfactory and dirty state, this food is all made very harmful to Health before it is swallowed.

The greatest care is taken at the present time that no impure, contaminated, or adulterated food is sold or eaten.

It is, however, just as needful to take every care that this food is not spoiled and made harmful by passing through a diseased and foully dirty mouth, and that its "nutritive value i.s not made less by want of proper chew-

A\OJ V jCjUO .10 [UJUTIId U^T.W '^[{lUnqttVT . teeth, thorough chewing is not possible, and unless food is well ground up and mixed with saliva in the mouth, it cannot be properly digested, and is largely wasted, instead of being used to build up all the different parts of the body.

The greatest amount of nourishment can only be go^ from food by keepirg. as far as possible, all the teeth in good order, and the mouth clean, which will follow* constant, regular care, if given from the earliest age.

This is where such a heavy responsibil'ty rests upon mothers. .

They alone are able to see that small children keep their teeth and mouths clean; that they do not get too many .sweets, or unsuitable food; smd that they are seen regularly by a properly qiialified and experienced dentist, who will be able to find out defects before an ordinary person would notice that anything was "wrong. At this stage, by filling or other simple operations (usually quite painless), the teeth can be made useful again, toothache and loss of -teeth prevented, and the chewing power kept as Nature meant it to be.

It is very important to have all small holes in the teeth filled before they get so largo as to make but weak fillings, or must bo taken out altogether, and also to have them seen to before the dec-ay spreads to the neighbouring teeth.

I sometimes "near it said that so much fuss about fillings, etc., is not necessary now. that sets of artificial teeth are so good, usefu, and fairly cheap. It has been found that the biting power of the perfect set of natural teeth of a grown-up person is equal to the pressure of 2-50 lbs. weight, ps against only 251bs. weight for a first class set of artificial teeth.

The lesson is plain and the need of keeping the natural teeth in good order throughout life obvious. The results of neglect of the teeth are not only a filthy state of the mouth toothache, bad-smelling breath, and loss of teeth from decay, but are very much more far-reaching than most people think.

Many general diseases are caused or made worse by a bad state of the mouth, either from direct spread of the poisonous matter, or through its being swallowed, and internal ■ disorders so started.

Poisonous products and germs rre practically always in contact with the tonsils and throat, and this is one of the chief causes of enlarged tonsils, adenoids, bad ears, and similar minor ailments.

Besides, a great quantity of putrid matter, dirt, and multitudes of disease germs are mixed with the food and swallowed, and this deadly mixture is breathed, leading to persons so effected be^ng poisoned, and their own health and that of their companions being seriously threatened.

With painful teeth or with many missing, it is not possible to cat properly, and so peoplo in this condition are more or less starved.

This is of special importance in the case of children, who not only need strength find nourishment for the ordinary purposes of living, but are growing and developing at the same time as well. ,

Food, if wot properly chewed, but bolted in large pieces, does more harm than good, causing Indigestion and many other internal troubles. Almost half the diseases of children would certainly be avoided by thorough .attention to the healthy state of the mouth.

Decay of the teeth is by far the most common complaint from which civilised peoplo suffer.

Once it starts it spreads rapidly, as a rule (more particularly in children and young peoplo), and tends to get worse and worse—unlike most othor diseases that usually get better of themselves in time.

Luckily, it can be fairly easily cured by proper treatment in the earlier stages and can also largely be prevented from spreading.

Attention of this kind is wanted from t,ho earliest age, as frequently the state of the mouth is so bad by the time school age is reached that it is not possible to avoid taking out some of the teeth. In this connection I have already explained how* very important it m to keep all the teeth in good working order. When children are recommended for early treatment, 1 sometimes hear objections raised, such as: "The child lias never had toothache,-" or that "it is on- ! ly a first tooth, and will drop out later by itself.-'' Quito true! but'ai'ter such I harm has been done ;'.,s can never ho nut I right.

It must never he forgotten that the earlier dental treatment is started tlio. loss needs to be done, less pain is caused

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less expense, and much better and more lasting results are possible. It is quite a mistake to think that ns tho first teeth will be shed they do not matter.

It is most important to keep them good, as the child's health and growth largely depend on tins.

'iiio teeth of children require more caro than those, oi: grown-up people, and should therefore be kept clean and looked after from the very first, and be examined by a dentist at frequent intervals (at least once- every three months), and any treatment needed carried out without delay.

Decay in the teeth is canned largely by allowing the wrong sort of food to be outer., and letting it remain round the teeth for want of use of a tooth-brush.

Or course, general weakness will make t.eoUi more likely to decay, and a child takes after its parents in tills as in other things to a certain extent.

, If any o\ the teeth are out of t-hoir proper places, or are crowded together, or do not meet properly, this will form little corners wLere food collects, and which are hard to get at to clean. The foisJ, if left in_ these spaces, will destroy the tootli surface and lead to decay.

It is not generally known that 'the teeth of the second sci-begin to fdrm at birth, and grow and develop for years in spaco? in the bone of the jaws," !,c----twocn tho roots of the first teeth.

Any disease of these iirsi-, teeth (especially abscess) must seriously harm tho second ones, and decay will sometimes start from this cause before they

are cub

The first tooth of tho second set is cutbetween the ages of 5|- and §\ year?, immediately behind the last tooth of jho baby set, and before any of these are shed.

Til's is a very large tooth, which should receive special care from the very firsD.

Decay in the .first teeth, is very likely to spread to the second ones, so" that if new teeth are cut in a diseased and dirty mouth they never stand a chance from the very first, but are quickly destroyed.

Keeping teeth good depends to a great extent on correct diet.'

l'"ood should be of such a kind that ;t gives the teeth and jaws thorough use and exercise.

Tt should leave the mouth as clean as possible at the end of each meal, and riot to bo of such a nature as to cling round or between the teeth.

Some cleansing form of food is useful to finish, off a meal —for example, frc-h trait, apple, banana, parsnip, carrot, etc (rjnv>..

"No food or sweets should be eaten between meals, and the extremely )y-.d habit of giving children a sweet last i !;ing at night is most harmful, and to be avoided at all costs.

Besides this care about food, cleanliness is most important! Tin? correct use of the tooth-brush is very necessary, more particularly for children «nd young people. Childron should be taught to brush their teeth as soon as ihey are cut. The brush should be of a fair size, but not too big to reach the back teeth, £18(1 should 1.13 quite stiiT. Powder—for example, precipitated chalk, or finely powdered whitening— is better than paste, which has a bad effect .upon the gums. The brush should be used with an up and down movement. The back teeth r-bould get as much caro, if not more, than the front ones, and the insides bo cleaned as carefully as the out.-rides.

The most important time to clean the mouth and teeth is last thin .a; at night so that no small pieces of food may stay between the teeth rJI night, as this will go putrid and start decay in the teeth that it touches. ' •.

Parents should, feel this a great responsibility, and sea that 'vigorous te?th-br!ishing is done regularly, ns children are not old enough to underst.avul the value of clean teeth, or to realise the grave results of their loss later on.

Whatever is spent on the ca.re of the teeth mny ho considered as a xevy s-pl^nd'd insurance, as a healthy mouth mokes directly for general' bodHy health, strength, and happiness.