PREVENTING DENTAL DECAY.

Shannon News, 30 October 1923, Page 3

PREVENTING DENTAL DECAY.

In view of the propaganda for the prevention of dental disease which has been carried on by the Health. Department during the last three years the following article by or. 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 AND USE 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, no caire should be taken to save them. This idea is very wrong when we consider that these teeth are planned to last twelve years, and ithat. these years are largely ,the body building yeairs of the child. The, enamel of these teeth depends upon the diet of the mother; for their 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 liave no roots—these roots gradually grow and make a veiry firm attachment to the jaw. The molar roots tire spread l 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 grind the food that is to make the body' of a 101 b baby into a. child of lOOlbs in ten years. An examination of these temporary teeth shows how (admirably they aire formed—their bulging or convex surfaces prevent the food iroin pressing! upon the gums in chewing food. The cusps meet the opposing cusps in such a manner that & 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 ot age they have perfect teeth and norniial archs—no decay has developed in their teeth. The reason for such a healthy condition is that the diet fed thjese children called for • thorough mastication and as no liquid, not even waiter, was allowed at meals, the food had to be well chewed before it couldbe swallowed.

During the war EngJand made an effort, and with good results, to reduce the! amount of bread eaten, instruction in proper mastication greatly reduced! the consumption of bread, as when 'a person chews his food carefully, not so much can be eaten as iry 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 has been of the soft, sticky, sweet foods so generously eaten by Americans.

When a child of four to five years has his teeth so much decayed that they !hav,ei abscessed and he cannot properly chew his food, somebody has not knojwn UWafl dental dfccay is a preventable disease. A FOREIGNER'S OBSERVATIONS. A person .bom and raised abroad, when he comes to America is greatly surprised to see ithe 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 are. consumed in this country. The foreign children, were breastfed—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 seen hi public • clinics, kindergarten children four and five years old whose teeth were so badly decayed that they were abscessed—three or more abscesses in thei same mouth. The child would not properly chew his food 'and the poison from the abscesses was- bad tor the health of the child. The child must have had grea* pain and its 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 teeth 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 land become abscessed the roots are not absorbed and the second 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 his food he is near his end. When a horse cannot chew his food, unless the condition can be remedied, he dies. Sensible human being do not use the same sense in earring tor 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, ha will wish to keep it. M least once a week the parent should carefully" examine the child's mlouith and teeth. Do not! allow these teeth to' be decayed. If you. find food packed between

the teeth, have it remoyed. Decay can >and must "be prevented. It is not a question of ' money. It is a question of diet and care. Dental decay is called "the disease of the people." It is tor the parent to prevent the child's eating between.: meals, also eating candy, for the 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 comi paratively easy to prevent tooth de- , cay—it is expensive and annoying to i repair the loss of teeth substance by I filling. What shall it be? A mouth-full of hadly diseased teeth or a mouth clean and with perfect teeth. It is for the parent w T ith the help of the child to decide- . Temporary teafth are very useful ' and good looking. Dental disease that desrtroys these teeth can be prevent-