MILK TEETH

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 March 1941, Page 8

MILK TEETH

DEFINITE AND IMPORTANT PURPOSE EVERY CARE ESSENTIAL. SOME POINTS FOR PARENTS. As all parents know, or ought to know, the treatment extended to children at the Dental Clinic from the infant stage to their passing out of Standard IV is subject to consent by the parents or guardian. To all parents, but particularly those who withhold consent, the following article contributed to the N.Z. Dental Journal by Alvin de Berry, B.D.S. (N.Z.), D.D.S. (U.S.A.-) is most enlightening:—

“Nature usually has a reason for everything and so it is reasonable to assume that the deciduous teeth are made for a definite and important purpose, and that they are placed in a certain relationship, as regards one to the other, and as regards one jaw to the other for a certain purpose. So it seems only proper that man should follow Nature in her ways, and maintain, or restore to a natural state, any affected deciduous teeth, much as Nature would have maintained them had she not been interfered with; or finding himself unable to retain such teeth, make, necessary amends to retain the position formerly occupied by the lost teeth.

"It is probably best to outline first some of the reasons for maintaining the deciduous teeth in as normal a condition as possible, not because we are unacquainted with them, but merely to remind us of them. Of all the questions that patients ask, the one relating to reasons for saving deciduous teeth will be put most frequently, and one should be able to answer positively and in such a manner as to convince the parents of one’s sincerity.

“Medical and dental sciences have established the fact fairly well that diseased teeth may prove an avenue to systemic disorders, and it seems logical to assume that the blood stream should be affected by contact with the diseased roots of teeth, and that in such a way further physical disorders may result. Then undoubtedly there is the interference with normal digestion during the developing years when the deciduous teeth are not properly maintained. The inability to masticate food properly means that the child bolts his food or avoids those foods that require any masticatory effort, which conduct may manifest itself in digestive disturbances and improper facial development. It is not necessary that a deciduous tooth be lost to cause drifting of the other teeth. A cavity in an approximating tooth will often be i sufficient to allow enough drifting of a tooth to upset the permanent articulation. Cavities allow varying degrees of driftage, depending apparently on the size of the cavity and the condition of the occlusion. “The deciduous teeth serve the child ‘ciuring the most important period of his life—he is growing and developing—and for these natural processes to take place unhampered the child must be free from constant pain, must be able to eat the proper food, and get a full quota of restful sleep. One need -but mention toothache to realise that the above factors and toothache do not make good companions. Besides, what chance has a child to study when afflicted with aching teeth? ■ “Consider for a moment the length of time that the deciduous teeth serve the individual. For example, the second deciduous molar erupts at about the 30th month, and is usually lost about the 11th birthday. That tooth has served 81 years: Again, for example, consider the deciduous cuspid. It erupts about the 18th month, and is lost about the 12th birthday. It has served 101 years. I believe we have underestimated the importance of the deciduous tooth. “A child’s first visit to the dentist should, in the majority of cases, come about his third birthday.’’ After studying the above, parents will surely appreciate their great responsibility to see that every opportunity is taken to ensure that the early treatment of decay in these first teeth is carried out and the child’s mouth kept in a healthy state.