Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1853-12-26
Tooth washes and Tooth Pow
derS.


A few years since, while at work in
the chemical labratory, man brought
as little vial holding half ounce, and
bearing the following or similar label !:
acknowledgements 10 semave
all dark color. &c., &c., from the teeth
immediately, and give. them a pearly
wilderness. 1t preserves the teeth from
decay, renders the breath sweet, pre-
vents tartar from forming upon them and
being carried into the stomach, thus i'm
proves the general health Of the system.
A single vial will last for years. Price
only rs ots.''
We examined this valuable affair, and
found it to consist only of water with a
little common muriatic acid, (hydro-chlo-
ric acid. J Its only action upon the teeth
was to dissoLue off portion of their sur
face, 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 barreI-full of this wash to be a.
bout IS cents, and this would I'LL about
z 900 of the % cent vials, at a cost of
about one cent for loo walls full. The
cost of the vials, including the labels and
filling, was about one and a quarter cts.
each. This "Tooth- pedlar" offer
ed US shining gold eagle to tell him
how to make it, which of course we
declined doing, ).for,'' said he, II pay
$l5 hundred for these vials, and sell
thousands of them, and am now going to
the New York State Fair, AMI can sell
them like hot cakes to the green coun-
try chaps. Last year I made over 800.
selling this same wash at one Fair, aud
| 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 Southern State Fairs, driving a
brisk business. He had boy on stool
before him, and was performing his dem
tai operations Confidential rather) upen
la dark colored set Of teeth, and showing
to wondering crowd s'this black tooth
by the side of that white one, made so
by his incompatible tooth-wash." A
dozen or more of the ambitious crowd
Immediately walked up and paid their
quarters, and carried home the prize
We stepped up to the pedlat, and re-
minded him of orr former remonstran-
ces; but he replied, at pays too well
to give UP the business, | make 81, 500
a year clear, and pay $50 year to the
State, for the privilege of selling. a
hundred others are selling It all over the
country. got it for $40 hundred at-
ter telling the manufacturer how cheap
ly 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 usual
" contain some acid which destroys the
|teeth.* Il is safer to avoid them all
A good toothbrush, and water or some
pleasant kind of soap, is the best and sa-
fest tooth cleaner we know of. The
teeth should be brushed before going to
bed. Food remaining upon and between
them during the night, is aptto turn to
acid, which eats away the surface.
We have little hope of putting an end
to the sale and use Of these not merely
useless, but positively injurious articles,
but we shall continue to do our part to
expose them. We have several more to
bring forward as we have opportunity.
II American Agriculurist.