The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1845-10-07
THE TEETH.
BY MRS LYDIA NJ. CHILD.

| Di Mrs LII OLA NJ. CHILD.
The prevalence of defective teeth in hi
country is the general subject of remark b.
Foreigners; and. whoever has travelled i
SPAN or Portugal is struck with the superic
soundness and whiteness of teeth in thos,
countries. Though not Clearly people !,
oiher respects, carefully remove all sub
stance from between them, after meals
A iittie silver porcupinc, with holes all owe
It's BACK TO insert tooth pricks in. is A com
mon ornament on the dining table of Spain
and Portugal. The gene raj use of them Gre.
ates SO large demand. that students =,
Ooiniord sometimes support themselves nv
"htliinS tooth-picAs, which are sold, tied in
sinaii bunches,lIke matches They are mads
OF willow, on account of its toughness and
phaollty. Iooth-picks of metal are roo
na,d' anu are apt to injure the gums. There
!, 'he same objection, in less degree TO qulIs
Dut willow tooth picks are preferable 10
aii o'hers, and they have the advantage OF
Deing the most Clearly, for they usually
1,eak IN the usirg, and are thrown away
rev sights are more offensive 10 n person
VI any refinement, than tooth-pick that
mas Deen much used; it is moreover nm
c'eahiy, and therefore not healthy for the
| teeth. '0i tue
FOOD allowed to remain between tbe
teeth particularly animal food, is very de-
structive it should be careful removed
ai'er every meal, and the mouth carefully
rinsed. This may seem to MANY like =
great taik about small matter. but these
are supple precautions 10 take and very
snSnt trouble, compared with the agony OF
achins teeth or your breath so offensive
that your best fiiend does not wish to sit
nigh you.
can see no reason why mans complex
ION should exclude him from the dining ia
ne, but see very good reason why he
should be banlshed for not taking proper
care of his teeth. A bad breath is such a
detestable thing, that it might be a sulIi-
cieDt reason for not marrying n person
with otherwise Agreeable qualities 1t is.
moreover, perhaps inexcusabie to thus
transform ones selfin a walking sepulchre.
Nobody needs to have an offensive breath.
careful removal of substance, from be
tween the teeth, rinsing the mouth alter
meals and bit of charcoal he'd in the
mouth will always cure bad breath.
a lump ofcharcoal held in the mouth,
TWO or three times week. and slowly
chewed, has wonderful power to pre-
serve the teeth and purify the BREATH
The action is purely chemical. II counter
acts the acid arising from disorded stom-
acb, or food decayed about the gums, and
II is this acid which destroys the teeth
A dear friend of ours had, when about
twenty years of age, front tooth that
turned black gradually, crumbed, and
broke off by piecemea'. By frequently
chewing charcoal the progress of decay was
not only arrested, but nature set visorousIy
to work TO restore the breach, and the crum-
bled portion grew again, till the whole tooth
was as sound as before. ThisI know TO be 4
fact
Every one knows that charcoal is an antip-
utrescent, and is used in boxing up animal or
Vegetable substance,to keep them from decay.
Upon the same principle, it tends to preserve
the teeth and sweeien the breath.
There is no danger in swallowing it, or
the contrary, small quantities have healthy
effect on the inward system, particularly
when the body is suffering from that class OF
CONF laint peculiarly incident to summer 1t
would not be wise TO swallow that, or any
gritty substance, in large quantities, or very
frequently; but once or twice a week a little
would be sulivary rather thin otherwise A
bit OF charcoal as big as a cherry, merely held
IN the mouth few hours without chewing
has good effect. AT first, the most people
dislike to chew it. but use renders il far from
disagreeable. Those who are troubled with
an offensive breath, might chew it very often
and swallow it but seldom. ], is particularly
important to clean and rinse the month thor
ougbly before going 10 bed; otherwise
great deal of the destructive acid will form
during the night.
Ifthese hints only induce one person to
take better care of the teeth, shall he more
than rewarded for the trouble of writing. j.
am continually panied to see tuns reople
losing their teeth, merely for the want Of a
few simple precautions; and one cannot en-.
ter stage, steam, or car without finding The at
mosphere polluted and rendered absolutely
unhea't thy for the lungs to breathe, when a
use ofwater and charcoal might render it as
wholesome and pleasant as the breeze Of
Eden.