The Buchanan County guardian. (Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa) 1858-1864, 1864-05-24
CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.
Short Lectures on the Teeth. ..No. 2.

1
| Short Lectures on the Teeth...No. 2.
In my first lecture on the subject. y
promised to tell you in this why food
remaining on the teeth, causes them to.
decay. l insisted upon absolute clsaals-
ness Of the teeth as necessary for ,hsis
preservation.
Either vegetable or animal food, plac,
ed in warm and moist situation, will
soon turn sour. The bulb Of thermom-
eter placed within the mouth will show
temperature Of 90 degrees. Food uu.
der such circumstances will sour rapid.
ly. Any sourness is owing to an acid.
A tooth placed in almost any acid. for a
longer OF shorter time, will become soft.
and can be cut as easily as a potatoe.
Good vinegar will produce this result.
A tooth is made Of an animal substanc ce.
resembling grislle, the pores or canals Of
which are filled with lime, thus giving
1T peculiar hardness. Acids will dis.
solve out the lime in tooth, and lesvs
the gristly portion unaffected. Now, II
food remains upon tooth until it be-
comes sour, the acids in contact unites
with the lime, and destroys portion of
Its substance. 1t continues to unite
with the lime of the tooth until il is sat-
issfed. As the food continues to grow
more and more acidulous, the work of
destruction goes on. AS the hme is
washed away, the gristly portion of the
tooth which is now exposed. commences
a fermentation, and thus fresh portions
of acid are formed, which in turn, act
upon the lime Of the tooth with which
II is in contact, and thus the work of de.
struction goes on. The outer surface OF
the teeth, next the tongue or cheeks, can
be kept comparatively clean by the
tongue and water, but nothing short Of
a brush should be relied upon. But how
will you remove the food that insinuates
itself between The teeth ? A qsiN tooth
pick is Indispensable for this, and should
not, by any means, be neglected for q
single meal. Brushing viii do once
day ii performed after the evening meal,
but the tooth pick must be used after
every meal Some one looks over nv
shoulder and asks, Why all this fuss
about the teeth? In oden times they
didn't decay so. and people then neysr
brushed their teeth. and they continued
good for lifetime ?" Wal. bit. my
friend. shall come to that subject in
some future lecture. will then fully an
swer your question. In the meantime.
please KEEP YOUR TEETH CLEAN. Now
would not have you understand me to
mean that any one who keeps his teeth
perfectly clean will not be troubled with
Dental decay. Many teeth have natural
defects in them when first erup,ed. In
a future number will tell you why this
is so. Well, suppose crack in tho
enamel Of the molar teeth admits por-
ton of food ; il being forced into them BY
it cannot be brushed or
picked out. aud the person will be en-.
tirely ignorant that the food is there, the
crack being so narrow. OF course, the
same destructive process takes place
that occurs between the teeth tb1t are
not cared for. The 6rst permanent
molars. or, as we often say, The "six
year old molars," those which are srup.
ted AT the sixth or seventh year, are very
often naturally defective. Fissures will
be found on their grinding surfaces, OF.
ten in cruciform manner. and are fre.
quently decayed before they are three
years older. Mothers. look IN the mouth
of your nine years old boy or girl, and
see if you find those dark lines Of decay.
Ifyou do. the sooner .hose teeth are plug
ged the better. ASIDE from good religious
literary training. there is nothing for
which Your children will give you hear
tier thanks. when older grown, than for
the instruction and means Of preserving
their natural teeth The expense of do
ins this is often urged ss an objection,
even by those who lavish costly cloth
ing upon themselves or children What
blindness and folly can see the be-
ginning Of public sentiment. People
begin 70 value their teeth a, something
Of their worth. o how foolish 10 say,
well, I'll let my teeth 90. and when
they are gone. I'll have some new ones -
II you have no more regard for yourself.
do not, | beg of you. sacrifice your chill
| dren 10 such n sentiment