The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1853-12-22
Tooth Wash and Tooth Powder.

I00tl WASH ana I0Otn EOWOefs
Several years since, while at work in
the chemical laboratory, man brought
US vial holdidg half o., and bearing
the following or similar label:
"Tooth- -wash-warranted to remove all
dark color, &c, &C., from the tech immedi-
ately, and give them pearly whiteness,
It preserves the teeth from decay, renders
the breath sweet, prevents tartar from
forming upon them, and being carried in
to the stomach, thus improves the gener-
al health of the system. A single vial
will last for years. Price only 25 cents.
We examined this VALUABLE AFFAIR,
and found it to consist only of water with
little common muraitic acid, (hydro-
cholic acid) Its only action upon the
teeth was to dissolUe off portion of their
surface, which of course removed the dark
coating, The continued use of this wash
would soon entirely eat away the teeth and
destroy them. We estimated the cost of
a Jarrel-full of this wash to be about IS
cents, and this would fill about $500 of
the vials at cost of about one cent for
100 vials full. The cost of the vials, in
cluding the labels and filling, was about
one and quarter cents each. This
Tooth washing pedlar" offered US shin
ing gold eagle to tell him how to make it,
(Which of course We declined doing for
said he, II pa, SIS hundred for these
vials, and I sell thousands of them, and
am now going to the N. Y. State Fair,
and can sell them like hot cakes to the
green country chaps. Last year 1 made
over SlOO. selling this same wash at one
Fair, and I want to make it myself
We told him how injurious it was to the
teeth and he left US.
We heard no more of him, till few
days since we met him at one of our South
ern State Fairs, driving brisk business.
He had boy on stool before him, and
was performing his dental operations
(anti- dental rather) upon dark colored
set of teeth, and showing to wondering
crowd ''this black tooth by the side of
that white one, made so by his incom-
parable tooth-wash" A dozen or more
of the ambitions crowd Immediately walk
ed up and paid their quarters, and car
ried home their prize. We stepped up to
the pedlar, and reminded him of our for
mer remonstrances; but he replied, "It
pays too we'll to give up the business, ]
make 81 500 year clear, and pay $50
a year. to the State for the privilege Of
selling. A hundred others are selling il
over the country. igotit for $40 a hun
drcd after telling the manufacturer how
cheaply you said it could be made"
! We will only say in regard to tooth,
washes and tooth powders generally, that
whether dry or liquid, they usually con-
tain some acid which destroys the teeth
Il is safer to avoid them all. A good
: tooth brush, and water or some pleasant
: kind of soap, is the best and safest tooth
cleaner we know of. The teeth should
be brushed going to bed. Food remain
, ing upon and between them during the
: ight, is apt to turn to acid, which eats
away the surface.
3 We have little hope of putting an enc
to the sale and use OF these not merely
. useless, but positively injurious articles
but we shall continue to do our part t.
bring forward as we have opportunity
american AgracahuraSt.