Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1868-04-30
Written for the Herald.
Care of the Teeth.
BY E. G. HAMILTON.

BY L. O. HAMILTON.
! The Importance and value to the
human system, Of the teeth, the ne
cessity Of keeping each and every
: organ of mastication in a healthy
and working condition, seems SO
i, obvious that to suggest even the
+ necessity Of a proper care Of the
! teeth, makes one feel as though he
f were advising practice with which
! every thinking person in the land
we're perfectly familiar. But do
all reasonable, thinking, careful peo-
pie exercise proper care for their
teeth I? Men manifest the utmost
solicitude when the eye or ear be-
comes affected, and every means
possible is brought into requisition
for a speedy restoration; and yet
usually the loss Of an eye or ear
produces no effect upon the sys-
TEN at all, while the teeth may be-
come diseased, and the patient suf-
fer for months and years without
suggesting the possibility of the dis
ease of the teeth exercising any in
fuence whatever beyond the pre-
else locality in which the trouble is
situated, while the truth is, when the
teeth are diseased, every organ and
fiber in the body suffers as a conse-
quence. Important for health, com
fort and beauty, the teeth claim the
attention of every man, woman and
child in the land.
The question is often asked,
"How shall | proceed, in order to
take proper care of my teeth ?"
"What is the best method for me to
adopt for their preservation ?" To
answer inquiries like these in a
plain, comprehensive manner, SO
that all may understand, we make
these suggestions:
First keep the system in as per-
feet health as possible, in every
particular; avoid bringing in con-
tact with the teeth, anything that
will be injurious to them. Acids,
for example, produce a chemical
action. Injury, Of q mechanical
character, may be done to the teeth
by biting hard substances, or, by
striking hard blows upon them, or
by fooliehly lifting heavy weights
by the teeth, or by subjecting them
to other and more severe duties
than was intended by nature. EX
cessive variations of temperature
that have tendency to produce pain .
or unpleasant sensation, should be
carefully avoided. 1t is highly i'm
portant that the teeth should be
kept perfectly free from all depos-
its. These originate from two
sources, viz; The saliva and the
lodgment of food upon and be-
tween the teeth. In all cases where
this deposit is made, it should be
removed. The proper method of
doing this will be determined by its
if it is soft, it may, by
close attention, be removed by the
brush alone or if the brush alone
is insufficient, some suitable dent
trifice may be applied that will act
mechanically, not chemically. If
the brush and dentrifce fails to pro-
duce the desired effect, then the ser
vice of the Dentist is required. This
deposit,-Salivary Calculus-com-
monty called Tartar, does not act /
upon the teeth direct, but produces
q vitiated state of the mouth, which
is very prejudicial to the teeth; it
causes the gums to infame, swell, !
and recede from the teeth,
produces absorption of the gums {
md process, thus occasioning the
ultimate loss Of the teeth.
Deposits from food or portions
Of food and like substances, remain I
ing upon and between the teeth un- |
til it becomes decomposed, in ma
iority of cases is the direct cause of ;
decay. This can always be remov- '
ed by the application of suitable G
lentrifces and the tooth brush, and .
sufficient care should always be ex- !
srcised to accomplish it. We find =
persons who are scrupulously clean s
in every otherparticular, but shame :
fully negligent as to the condition
Of their teeth. II,
For tooth picks, there is, per c
naps, nothing superior to the quill; t
though fine grained, hard, tough :
wood, is excellent, butnot so dura- a
ble as the former. Picks should be a
used after every meal, carefully and
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