TAKE PROPER CARE OF TEETH.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 891, 13 September 1910, Page 4

TAKE PROPER CARE OF TEETH.

BEST WAY OF PRESERVING A GOOD SET. A dentist who was working recently on the teeth of a suffering woman and trying to distract her attention from the pain said : “I wouldn’t have half as much business if women would only give the simplest attention to their teeth in time. By ‘time’ I mean before any damage can be done. For prevention is one of the certain ways of preserving a good set of teeth. 111-health is often given as the reason for poor teeth, when many times it is the result of neglect. “Understanding the formation of the teeth may help to do for them as they should be done by. That hard outside which frequently does duty as a nutcracker, threadcutter and the rest is thin ; nothing more than an enamel of paper thickness. Under this the tooth structure is soft and porous. Therefore when the enamel is cracked or broken, moisture steeps through, settles in the porous substances, and decay is inevitable. That is one way that the tooth goes. “ Another is allowing to cling to it such matter as will weaken the enamel. Acids will do this. This is why, immediately after eating any fruit, the mouth should be rinsed with a solution of bicarbonate of soda, a teaspoonful of the powder to half a glass of water. Soda counteracts acids and it is needed as a wash always after eating fruits or candies, 100, for sweets left on the teeth create acids. These acids eat the enamel. “In my opinion rinsing the mouth frequently and often with soda or lime water would save a woman many dollars a year in dentist’s bills, “Next to these mouth washes a correct method of brushing will do much toward preservation,” he continued. “ Rubbing the brush to and fro only polishes the middle of the service, just as the nails would be effected, if a woman rubbed her chamois buffer over the top only. I notice some women turn their fingers sidewise when they polish them, so that every part of the nail may be made to shine. She can’t turn her teeth, naturally, but what she can do, and so can other women, is to adapt the brush to the teeth.

The brush should be held across the teeth and placed at the top of the gums of the upper jaw. Then the bristles must be drawn down to the bottom of the teeth, following the space between. The lower jaw is treated by beginning at the gum and drawing the brush up toward the top. Chances are that particles will be eliminated. In any event the edges of the teeth have been cleared. “ And, of course, dental silk should be used after each meal, drawing it between the teeth to remove any bits of food. If they remain they certainly will make the teeth decay.”