DENTAL SCIENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 18 May 1929, Page 3

DENTAL SCIENCE

professional OPINION IN STATE OF FLUX. CAN MORE NATURAL TEETH BE SAVED? WELLINGTON, May. 16. “Notwithstanding this improved prospect, professional opinion on many matters is in such a state of flux that it would he. difficult for an assembly of dentists to agree on a definition for the term ‘good dentistry.’ If there could be a general understanding of what is meant by that term, it would help to ensure progress, especially in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of various dental diseases.”

The above opinion was expressed yesterday by Air .John Y. AVnrren, D. D.S., president of the New Zealand Dental Association, in his presidential address at the opening of the twenty-third annual conference of the association in Wellington.

“The first responsibility of the dental profession is the prevention of dental caries, and we have made many worthy efforts to discharge it,” said Air AVnrren. “Apart from the handicap that is imposed on our efforts by the apathy of• the general public, the subject possesses all. tin 1 complexities of a .biological problem. But. judging by much of the advice given to the public, prevention can be effected by the careful use of tlm toothbrush and the consutmption of foods in a coarse state. From this we must conclude that dental caries is the result of carbohydrate food being permitted to remain in contac 1 with the teeth. I readily agree tlia’such a state is an exciting cause, and that it should be given prominence when advising patients, but that the theory does not offer a sufficient explanation of the causation of dental caries, mav he shown by a consideration of the following brief statement of facts: The daily frequency of dental caries on self-cleansing areas in well-cnrcd-for mouths: carious cavity of long duration in one tooth, but the contiguous surface ofjdie adjoining tooth remains unaffected; marked susceptibility and i jiimnunity exhibited by members of the-;-* s’qmo sex, with little difference’ in, age, and living on the same diet; immunity front dental caries of persons living on an ordinary diet, j jyho never clean tlieir teeth ; arrestspofj dental caries.

{ip&r.h- / '• : 'a HAD OUR. FC^fenr'F®S : ' BETTER TEETH?

“The advice to use'-carbohydrate foods in a coarse state—e.g., wholemeal bread, . raw root vegetables, fruit, etc.—appears to bo deduced from the belief that our immediate and remote ancestors, as weil as people living iit" w kept their natural dentures in a healthy condition 'because they had not the use of refined " ' awF' soft -'foods'*' 'therefore, not only was self-c-eansing action operating at each meal, but the vigorous mastication of the mouth. B.n the application of a wider knowledge it can- be demonstrated that such a simple’ explanation disreguris imporiand considerations of truth and -error. Statements made by the laity that the ‘people who iived nearer the beginning of the past century had better teeth, must be regarded as wholly unreliable, because we know that the expert observations necessary to support those statements could not possibly have been made, and that it is customary for the laity to form their

impressions from the appearance of the interior teeth only. From our knowledge of the history of dent,sti\ we kiiow that since ancient time there must have been a considersb e number of teeth lost through disease and by extraction, consequently many self-cleansing areas would result in the preservation of the remaining teeth. NATURE’S CHILDREN. “One may in the same way question the instructional value to us of the fact that the primitive races have perfect dentition. - Such people are Nature’s children, and subject to her law that only tlie physiologically fit may survive. “We must remember that their way of living keeps them fit. Their, days are spent in the fresh air and sunshine; their daily pursuits entail much physical labour which promotes a vigorous circulation: food is assimilated rapidly and economically: the mysterious ductless glands maintain a normal metabolism; the excretory organs function in a natural manner; and the entire-organism is under the control of .a nervous system fvnich i® not chronically fatigued by the •incessant calls that are made on it in civilised society. And because they have made the most of Nature’s rerrjmo not alone her regimen of fish. nuts, and berries, hut her whole regime of living— Nature rewards them with the inestimable boon of immunity from dental caries. “Observations on the dental cendLinn's of primith'o people are interesting in tint they throw light on. immunity-which is not the same an prevention. To ho constnntlv reminding i be. lnitv -of the good teeth possessed by the Eskimo or pr'-European Maori, must tend to detach their interest in oral hygiene, because Ihodo not de-ire tbo conditions which produced these good tooth. Wo all ngreo to the broad statement that diet is perhaps the chief causative a.mnt, of dental caries, hut in contradistinction to those who contend that the local deposition of food is the

principal cause. 1 would maintain that the basic cause of dental disease must be attributed to dietetic errors, which, resulting in mal-nutrition, lowers' the general resistance of tli tissues, including t‘he dental tissues, perverts the secretions, e.g., the ,«nliviv. and thus establishes a condition that is favourable to the organisms of caries. If daily observation possesses any value, it would seem that excessive consumption of sucli foods as bread, potatoes, milk pud dings, jam and all kinds 61 con foe tionery induces a state of carbohy drate poisoning, which, bceom inchronic, constitutes one of the has' causes of dental disease, and, oil moo ical authority, of many other maladies.”