OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 158, 23 March 1918, Page 5

OUR BABIES

fBY HTGSIA.I

Published unripr the ampfces of the Royal New Zealand Society for trie JJealth of Women and Children. . "It is wiser to put ui» a fciwu at tn<? top of a. nreripn'.t than to maintain an arubulanoe at the bottom." GOOD '• EETH. "Good Teeth: How 'lb«v Grow ami How to Kce» Them" i* tit!" of a lit! e book published in America. It is well illustri'ted. r-om nref.i-.je to the booklet is so jjoort that I make no apology for making: copious '^tracts. Preface*to "Good Teeth." A vary large part, of our baa it.s origin in the mouth And Hi-health is tiio most exoen-'ive 'bins in the world, tl impoviirisiie*' the ; :tdividnal, thy Kraft;, and the ratie. A famous English ,*hysiciy.n once said that da-ayed tc*ot): ranged move snncnng than the ftriuk evil. This little book on ?!-■• of tne tee:ti is ottered to tin? pu 1 ' ' ; ;i eontnouiion to the. ii;uneim?ly vah propaganda in behalf of Jiioui 1 -' "r.d sonnd t'Tth. which school boards, public health autnoritica. and public-spirited dentists everywhere are. now waving. Grateful neknoffbc;; nent i* du ,v to the many reprf'S'mtaiiv'/ dentists vho have read the imuuwript < C thi:- booklet, a r.d contributed vahnble criticisms " nf » * l,sgestiouH.

Sonic Fa:!ta For Taxpayers. Dental inspection of School children saves morn than it costs, even if you leave out of consideration entirely ihe benefit to the child. The bis? item of waste on the school budget < ilia child who isn't, promoted—who i'J inv, :wn, throe, or four years behind hh prude. Almost invarii)bly the child who Tails to paw is found to lj<* sufTcringr from physical defects—especially t«o*e i».sulth:{? aom tooth defects. Investigation eondtwted in th« Jtorion } School, Cleveland, Ohio, showed that 27 : per cent, oi the-. school enrolment had de- ' caycd or irregntar teeth. Twenty-seven of thess childrf.n. many of whom were f r om < one to faHr\v*?ars behind (h"ir grade, '.vere organised in„ a dental pound., and sjvod careful dental attention. At the end of ( the school year it was* found that they j had improved an average of 99.fi per cent, in working efficiency.' Investigation? made under the auspices of the liu.ssell Sage Foundation phow that fully half of the school children of the : nation—lo million—have bad tc?th. Chil-,i dren with ifeth. accord-'j ing to these investigations, fall six mouths behind in cteht years. i In New York City it cost approximately | 40dol (about £8) to put a child through a year of public school. If the child fails i and is to, repeat the grade, this is a dead loss. ' i According to the figures of the super- ' visor of dental clinics of the Board of Health of New York Cit«- it uost 4.10d01. to put a child's mouth in order, and this includes equipment; hence for every 40dol. lost bv the non-promoted child, it would be possible to give, dental treatment to nearly a dozen children. In view of facts like these, what city is so "poor" that it cannot afford a dental clinic?

Good Teeth Coed Health. It is literally true that' good health is impossible without tood teeth. Competent medical authorities now have no hesitation in asserting that a majority of disease from which mankind suffers een be traced directly tr indirectly to mouthinfection—to decayed teeth and diseased gums. Without 'good teeth it is impossible to masticate the food properly; without proper mastication food caunot be properly digested. Indigestion, constipation, and other disorders of the digestive tract are very often caused by decayed teeth, and disappear as soon as the dentist has put his patient's mouth in order. Health Insuranoo 'For Your Children, Jlost children are taught to wash tho hands and face. Comparatively few are taught to brush their teeth regularly. Yet a- clean mouth is really far more important for the health of the child. Children whose teeth are well eared for are far less likely to catch diseases of childhood, sueli as measles, mumps, diphtheria, and scarlet lever. Astonishing results in preventing disease have been obtained by dentists working in institutions and orphanages. In the Bpring of 1911 a dentist was employed to examine and care for children's teeth in tit. Vincent's Orphanage ill Boston, where every year there had been many cases of measles, whooping cough, mumps, scarlet fever, and other children's diseases. The dentist filled cavities and taught tho children the regular use of a tooth brush. As a result these children's diseases have been practically banished from 1 the institution. There has been scarcely a case sinco the dentist began his work.

How tho Teeth Are Made. Memo by "Hygeia."—For a description of how the teeth are built we would refer our readers to the booklet, "Tho Story of the Teeth," written for the Society by Or. Trilby King and published by Whitcombc and Tombs. This little book was issued during Baby Week, and should be in the hands of all parcnis-especially all prospective mothers. Throughout the animal kingdom tile teeth are found to be closely adapted to the work they have to do. The tiger eats nothing but meat, which .requires comparatively little grinding; hence his long fans; teeth and scissors-like molarp, which are well adapted for bitinn and rending. Tho elephant, on tho other hand, eats grass and fruits and tender shoots of trees. So the elephant has big double molarß with Hot surfaces thrtt rub bad; and forth like a huge grinding machine. Human beings eat'both flesh and vegetable foodB; hence we boast several kinds of teeth, which have from one to two <:u."!3 or points apiece, ranging in orderly evolution from the front to the back of the mouth. You have—if you have a full set of teeth—tlo fewer than 12 enamelled chisels, eight sharp tools with two points apiece, and 12 solid mortars for grinding purposes. ' Tho chisels are Ibe incisors, and _ the ratline or cuspid teeth; the double-pointed tools are called bicuspids, and tho mortars are the molars in the back of y.iur mouth. You cut your food with the Incisors, canineß. and bicuspids. Tho tongi:" carries it back in the mouth, where it finally ground to fine bits by the molar:-.