Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1853-11-25
MAHIN & GLEN lens.
Correspondence.


Correspondence.
EprroRs JOURNAL: In a late number o
your useful and highly instructive paper
dated October 28th, was exceedingl,
pleased BY reading an article that must b,
acknowledged by all unbiased minds as per
tanning to the whole human family. Tn,
heading, Of course, appeared rather move
one, from the fact that it is subject sci
dom If ever touched upon by our weekl,
papers.
lief, attracted my attention. read thu
article with satisfaction and profit. Musine
after its perusal who the author might be
Icame to the wise and natural conclusion
that q sympathizing, philanthropic mind
must have originated it-as we would justly
infer from the TACT that personal suffering
from " that hell o'a disease" toothache,
prompted him to warn his friends to flee
from a similar attack by adopting the nec.
essary precaution, call upon the dentist
and profit by his skill--having those deli
cate organs nicely repaired before the foot
step of filthy gangrene has indellibly fixed
its corrosive seal on, their snowy crowns,
and not practice that gross neglect which
has caused him to groan and writhe under
TINT excruciating malady, that words are
inadequate to describe, (toothache.) As
the cause is effectually given in a few
words by the poet, do not attempt delin-
cation OF horrors, but cite you to his song |:
But most the teeth, for various use employed,
Disturb tho system when themselves DESTROYED
For when these organs, yielding to decay,
Iu morbid exhaIations, waste away,
The vital air, from heavens @rial food
That warns with life the circulating blood,
Bears to the heaving lungs the deadly bane,
Where all it's noxous qualities remain,
While every breath the poisonous draught repeats,
But whom, from loss Of teeth, the food must pass,
A crude. and rigid, and unbroken mass
To the digestive organs, who can know
What various forms Of complicated woe
Msy rise, terrific, from that single source?
For nature orce resisted in her course,
Breeds frightful thirgs-a monstrous progeny
Consumption, feve.s, palsy, lrp,osy,
The hobbling gout. that chides at every breath,
The lingering pace of all-desfroying death:
And spop'exy. dragging to bis DOOM,
The half-surviving victim of the tomb"
We must infer from the above quotation
that neglect and procrastination are the
sole causes of the aches and ills that doom
US to misery AMI of:entimcs despair.
Dental operations are of great antiauity.
They we,e practiccd by the ancient r mans
and Greeks, although as now practiced by
thorough dentists, in principles of science,
ii is Of comparative recent date.
To be permanent, il is necessary that the
operation should be- performed before the
nerve ia expos'd d; tho cavity must be clean
scd and the gold introduced so perfectly as
to exclude all foreign substances. Decay
Is thus arrested, and useful tooth pre-
served for life. II we would be guided hy
the pathetic warning of Subscriber" we
would not only save these beautiful orna.
mcnts, given us hy wise Creator, but
shield ourselves from many litter pang.
In this country, no part ef the human
svstem is more subject to disease than the
teeth, and no part so "asilv cured or pre-
vented. 1t is admitted bv those who are
ncau, med with the structure Of the teeth,
that they may he preserved in most persons
tn the end Of life. If such is the fact,
(Which can he abundantly shown it is cer-
t,inly Of the first Importance to those who
wish to preserve these useful organs that
the proper method Of treatment from in
fancy to old age should he practiced. What
10 more repugnant to the olfactorics of a
refined and sensitive person than foul
breath ?; have noticed in some instances,
in conversation, the more fntid the breath
TIE more closely it was intruded upon the
listener. This should MT be, for a good
tooth brush, used Eve minutes per day, a
quill tooth pick, (no other should be used,
are quito sufficient to ensure sound and
white teeth. s'Too much troublc,o says
one. Very strange! FIVE minutes labor,
sweet breath and sound teeth against de-
caycd and aching grinders and the pains Of
the dentists forceps! Choose ye!
hope The subject Of physiology may be.
come the study Of all, for it is great and
necessary thing that man should know him
self. Health, life, happiness, age and mo-
raiity depend upon the knowledge which
he may have attained in this useful and in
teresting branch of science.
We have innumerable theories thrown
open for our investigation. Let us exam
inc and select such as shall coincide with
reason and common sense. l am inclined
to think, dear Editors, that the citizens of
our growing town and county would be
very much benefited by an occasional arti-
Gle onphysiology srom the pens of some of
the many guardians of public health that
Providence has placed in our midst. Their
professional worth would, in this way, be
made more apparent to those who might be
so very unfortunate as at some future time
to require their services. ID.