DECAY OF TEETH.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4679, 26 March 1924, Page 1

DECAY OF TEETH.

PREVENTION IN CHILDREN. ADVICE TO PARENTS. (Issued by the Council of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, England). Decay or the teeth is caused by the fermentation of food that sticks on or befn een the teeth after meals. Acid is formed from the food, and this acid eats a hole into the teeth. It is only th' 1 starchy and sugary foods that fo;m acid in the mouth. If is most important that the jaws sh'-uld be well grown and the teeth regular. This is brought about by breathing through the nose From birth onwards and by chewing and gnawing. If the jaws are small and the teeth overcrowded, mastication (chewing) cannot be properly performed, and the food will be left clinging to th? teeth after meals and the teeth will decay.

In order that the jaws and teeth shall grow properly and the teeth kept clean and free from decay, you sh ,ukl observe the following rules :—

(I) As soon as an infant needs Food other .than milk (8 to 9 months) give it in a solid form, such as crusty bread, twice baked bread, or crisn toast, thus compelling mastication. Do not give bread soaked in milk or milk thickened with flour or other starchy foods, such as most patent (cods. Encourage the child to chew and see that it breathes through its hose. In those ways good habits of mastication will be formed.

(2) As the child grows ui> you should give, most of the food in a solid form, compelling mastication. Food, other than milk, should rarely be taken in liquid form. Vegetables ami meat should not be minced and sonked in gravy. Bread should not lie eaten new, and it should have plenty of good firm crust.

(I’.) After the first two or three years of life the child should have three meals a day and no food between.

(4) Tt is not adivisable to drink at meal times, but plenty of water should be taken between meals. Milk is a food and should only be taken at meal times, and must be followed by a tooth-cleansing food.

(5) All meals should be finished with a cleansing food (see below). (0) Sweets, chocolates, and biscuits are very harmful to the teeth if taken the last thing at night. They should only be taken at meal times, and should be followed by a cleansing food. The custom of giving milk and biscuits the last thing at night should not be alldived.

(7)' Correct feeding and chewing are the best means of preventing decay of the teeth, though the intelligent use of the toothbrush will be found helpful. If decay of the teeth op tenderness of the gums is noticed the child should be taken to a dentist. Such conditions prevent mastication and bring about further decay. It is im-' porlant for the sake of the child that the nursing and expectant mother should also go to the dentist if her teeth are in a bad condition.

The following are examples of foods referred to above :—

Starchy foods : Potatoes, rice, tapiqae sago, biscuits, etc., oatmeal, porridge, most patent foods. Sugary foods: All foods to which sugar is added, sweets of all kinds, honey, syrup, jams, marmalade, milk. Tooth-cleansing foods : Green fruits, apples, oranges, nuts, raw vegetables, lettuce, watercress, celery, radishes, radishes, onions, crusts of bread (the coarse wholemeal flour is best for th's purpose), crisp toast, twice-baked bread,, meat, fish, bacon.