DENTAL DISEASE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4616, 19 October 1923, Page 4

DENTAL DISEASE.

PREVENTION IN CHILDREN; CARE OF TEMPORARY TEETH. I»i view of the propaganda for the prevention of dental disease which hag been carried on by the Health Department during the last three years the following article, by Dr. William P. Cooke, issued by the Preventive Dentistry and Oral Hygiene Department, Harvard Dental School, should be of general interest, emphasising as it does the maxims that are taught in New Zealand as being absolutely fundamental if tooth decay is to be prevented in our young children. VALUE OF TEMPORARY TEETH. There is in the minds of many persons the idea that temporary teeth are not very important, and as they are probably all lost by the twelfth year of life np care .should be take a to save them. This idea is very wrong when we consider .that these teeth are planned to last twelve years, and that these years are largely the body building years of the child. The enamel of these teeth depends upon the diet of the mother for its substance. Cases are on record where the mother’s diet was mostly tea, sugar, and white bread, and her children had their first teeth with very little enamel. The temporary teeth when they first erupt have no roots : the roots gradually grow and make a very firm attachment to the jaw. The molar roots are spread as the second teeth that take their places come between them. This standing apart of these roots makes a very firm hold upon the jaw. Such a firm attachment indicates the purpose for which these teeth were made, namely, to grin! the food that is to make the body of a 101 b baby into a child of 1001 b in ten years. An examination of these temporary teeth shows how admirably they are formed. Their bulging or convex surfaces prevent the food from pressing upon the gums in chewing food ; the cusps meet the opposing cusps in such a manner that a series of planes cut and shear the food in chewing; food is cut off by the anterior teeth and chewed finely by the back teeth. CHEWING SHOULD BEGIN EARLY. When should this chewing process begin ? I know a baby who, at seven months old, was chewing hard toast upon her .gums. Brothers of this baby have been brought up on the same system, and at five and seven years of age they have perfect, teeth and normal arches: no decay has developed in their teeth. The reason for such a healthy condition is that the diet fed these children called for thorough mastication, and as no liquid, not even water, was allowed at meals the food had’ to be well chewed before it. could be swallowed. During the war England made an effort, and with good results, to reduce the amount of bread eaten. Instruction in proper mastication greatly reduced the consumption of bread, for when a person chews his food carefully not so‘much can be eaten as in the bolting process.. This also aids digestion, as the food when finely chewed digests easily. DECAY IS RAPID. Decay of the temporary teeth progresses very rapidly when it begins. The mouth is an ideal place for the process of dental decay. It is, warm, moist, and has plenty of easily fermentable food in it, especially when a person does not remove the food after each meal and when his diet lias been of the soft, sticky, sweet foods sp generously eaten by Americans. When a child of four to five years lias his teeth so much decayed that they have abscessed and he cannot properly chew his food, somebody has not known that dental decay is a preventable disease. A FOREIGNER’S OBSERVATIONS. A person born and raised abroad, when’he comes to America is greatly surprised to see,the amount of gastric diseases, intestinal troubles, and dental diseases. An observing foreigner who has lived in many countries —Roumania, Turkey, Egypt—never found troubles of this nature to any such amount as in the United States. He considers these troubles are due to the diet —the amount of candies, ice-cream, and in general the soft diet charged with carbohydrates which is consumed in this country. The foreign children were breast-fed —this developed the tongue and jaws. The grown-up people ate raw vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain bread, baked hard. The teeth need exercise, and the temporary teeth are for use as well as the permanent teeth. I have in public clinics seen kindergarten children four and five years old whose teeth were so badly decayed that they were abscessed—three or more abscesses in the same mouth. The child would not properly chew his food, and the poison from the abscesses was bad for the health of the child. He must have had great pain, and Ills mouth could not have ever been comfortable. This condition is not necessary. Parents who feed their children upon sweets and allow them candy between meals are to blame. Dental decay attacks the teefh of rich and poor alike when they eat practically the same diet. The temporary teeth should last and will last until they drop out. When the tooth erupts there is no root. After the root is made and has served its purpose it is absorbed and the materials are used to make the second teeth. The enamel portion only is left to fall out. There should be no decay of these teeth. When they decay and die and become abscessed the roots are not absorbed and the second tooth may come in the wrong place, due to the root of the temporary tooth being in the way. CHEW AND LIVE. When a dog cannot chew hi,s food he is near his end. ' When a horse cannot chew his food, unless the condiiton can be remedied he dies. Sensible human beings do not use the same sense in caring for their children that they use in caring for animals. Parents should examine the mouth and teeth, of their children.

When the parent sees what , a wonderful chewing apparatus the child has he will wish to keep it. At least once a week the parent should carefully examine the child’s mouth and teeth. Do not allow these teeth to be decayed. If you find food packed between the teeth, have it removed. Decay can and must be prevented. It is riot a question of money: it is a question of diet and care. Dental, decav is called “ the disease of the people” It is for the parent to prevent the child’s eating between meals; also eating candy, fort he more sugar the more tooth decay. The temporary teeth are very useful in talking, in chewing food, and in helping the jaws develop so that the second teeth, which are larger than the first, will have room. It is comparatively easy to prevent tooth decay; it is expensive and annoying to repair the loss of tooth substance by filling. What shall it be ? A mouth full of badly diseased teeth or a mouth clean and with perfect teeth. It is for the parent, with the help of the child, to decide. Temporary teeth are very useful and good looking. Dental disease that destroys these teeth can be prevented.