CLEANING OF TEETH

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28258, 22 April 1957, Page 9

CLEANING OF TEETH

Health Department’s Advice In 1955, the British Dental Association announced that it did not accept claims that any dentifrice actively prevents tooth decay other than by its function as a cleansing agent, says the Department of Health in its official journal, “Health.” People cannot fail to be impressed, the- article says, by attractive advertisements which claim to bring immunity from tooth decay and dental disease, but the fact remains that whatever medicament is used as an aid, it is in contact with the teeth for only a few minutes a day. so quickly does the active saliva wash it away after teeth-brushing. Tooth structure, composition, and amount of saliva, and also irregularities of the dental arch are all factors in the complex problem of tooth decay, but food stagnation is one of the principal causes, for which the best preventive method at the present known is food removal. For this purpose, toothpaste is useful in helping the toothbrush to do its work in a pleasant and palatable way. What is far more important than choice of toothpaste is proper brushing of teeth —if possible, after every meal and after eating sugary foods between meals. Brushing gets rid of the worst food debris and 'massa’ges the gums at the same time. If one cannot use a toothpaste during the day—and most people cannot —at least rinse out the mouth with water to get rid of clinging food which produces the acid that attacks tooth enamel. As for the toothbrush—choose a bristle-head about an inch long. Bristles may be nylon or real bristle. It is better to use a brush a fraction too soft than too hard.