The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-07-12

OURSELVES and our Islands have been written
about from almost every poiu: of view,-political,
social aud religions.--and now we have some OBJ
seryations from a dental standpoint. In the Dental
Times for April. a quarterly of Dental Science pub
lished in Philadelphia. we find a letter from DR.. J.
VI. Whitney. the well-known dentist of this city.
now on q Visit to the United States, from which we
copy the following interesting paragraphs:
These fair islands, lifted up in this wide ocean,
inhabited by a peculiar and interesting people,
present to the enthusiastic student many deeply
curious and instructive subjects of thought. But
to none does the door open more widely than to
him who attempts 10 solve the difficult problem
Why do teeth decay, and how shall the evil be
stayed?
NJ Darwin. when be was told by our natura-
/ list, Rev. Mr.. Gnlick. OF these valleys lying side by
side at similar attitudes with identical vegetation,
birds. &c, and yet each producing entirely differ
ent varieties of land shells. acknowledged that they
presented features difficult to explain upon his
/ theory of Natural Selection. So | have often
thought. could some of our tooth philosophers
have their theories tested by what may be seen
here. they would be in Il worse dilemma than the
famous philosopher of Natural Selection notoriety.
Among the ancient customs of this people.
which are peculiar, was their mode of interTing the
dead. depositing them in the numerous caverns or
by the s~eashore, where the sands are constantly
shifting, or preserving them as mummies. thus
bringing the remains within easy reach of the OBJ
server. Thus we have no difficulty in reading the
whole dental history of this people, whose ancestry
runs back to an age of which there is no tradition.
This is the more instructive, because we know all
their articles of diet, their manner of preparing
them for eating, and the periods in their history
when each addition OF fruit or vegetable was made
to their limited variety. Before these islands were
known to civilization as now, their chief article of
food was tdrO. a root of the Arum family. which
was baked and either eaten thus or pounded and
mixed with water into n thick paste. which, when
it has slightly fermented. is called poi. This, with
Ent rAnna urTasT Of cnn n"l - E,- haart,a
and sweet fruits. were all they had. With civiliza-
ton came oranges. lines. tamarinds, guavas. and
other acid fruits and berries. with meats of various
kinds. vegetables, &c, to. increase their small var
iety, all of which are quite commonly used at the
present day.
But civilization. with its many blessings. brought
also 10 those simple heather practices and diseases
which still exert their baleful influence upon the
nation. What dental changes. then. may we ex-
pect to find, as we note the transition of this peo-
Pile from the most primitive manner of living to the
present?
In the most ancient burying places. especially
by the s~easbors, where the shifting sands have left
hundreds of bleached skeletons exposed. perfect
sets of teeth. both OF adults and of children, are
not rare. Where carries does exist. it attacked the
gingival border the most frequently. next the grind
ing surface. leaving the approximate surfaces quite
free. But since the introduction of acid fruits and
the breaking down OF the national health, a grad
ual change for the worse may be noticed. so that
the young of to-day suffer more from toothache
than the adult OF former times conld have done.
And while l think that oranges. lines and taraa-
rinds have had something 10 do in this work. yet
their part is small compared to the general under
mining of the system by that insidious enemy
syphilis.
Il am confident that any one who has studied
such developments as these, will readily infer that
we have no reason to hope that the simplest d~ietetic
regimen. followed through generations. will place
a people beyond constant need of dental care vet
ii will, by restoring q more natural and perfect
nutrition, IN a great measure save the young from
the early decay and frequent loss of their perma-
nent teeth. and bring the adult less frequently to
dreaded dental operations.
We also infer that while the use of acid fruits,
beyond any doubt, exert a damaging effect upon
the teeth of those accustomed to them, their inhu-
ence IS slight compared with the evil results of a
life not controlled by habits of virtue. You all
appreciate that when. by any means. perfect nutri-
ton is impaired. in addition to the deranged stom-
sch, infamed throat and gums. and foul breath, the
dental organism will be among the first TO suffer.
One glance az the face OF the Young is s~u efficient TO
tell us what we may expect to find in the teeth. and
if that shows a s~yphilitic inheritance. we know that
there must be dental decay and Its attendant Ills"
The famous steamship Vanderbilt. which was
presented by Commodore Vanderbilt to the Gov
eminent during the civil war. has lately been sold
to George Howes & Co. and has been converted
into q sailing ship. at San francisco, and rechris-
tened the Three Brothers. The price paid for the
steamer by the Messrs. Howes was S42. 600 cur
rency, $4,000 Of which they got back by selling
the machinery. 1t is estimated that after being
spared. rugged. equipped. provisioned and manned.
with sailors advance paid. and lying at the wharf
ready to take cargo, she will cost her owners
$4,000 gold coin. As her measurement. old style4.
is 36l5 tons. and her carrying capacity 4400 toms
Of wheat, she is the largest sailing ship aEoat.
except the Adriafic, formerly of the old Collins