Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1884-10-16
NUMBER 8.
ABOUT TIE TEETH.
A Prominent Dentist Gives Some In
teresting information.

beg your pardon for interrupting YOU, X
said middle-aged gentleman, with
genial expression, to the Chicago Inter-
Oeean's New York correspondent, who
made the foregoing remark, q but white
teeth are scarcer than white blackbirds,
that is to say there are none in existence,
and if the young beauty you describe
had the misfortune to possess them, her
rosy mouth would have been the portal
to miniature graveyard full Of tiny
tombstones waiting for inscriptions y
The speaker was one of the most emil
nent dentists in New York, a fellow
student Of the famous DIR. Evans, and
occupying in this country the same po-
sition as the latter does in France.
"of what color are teeth in general.
then2' asked, for correspondent does
not mind being sat upon. provided useful
information is to be gained by the pro-
cess.
Said the doctor: "seen in contrast
with snow, raw cotton, marble or any
pure white substance, they can be
roughly divided into three colors, blue.
gray and yellow, while the difference in
shades runs up into hundreds. The ap-
parent whiteness of the teeth depends
entirely on the complexion and hue Of
the lips. For insta4 se, in describing the
deutals of negro, people call them
dazzling white, whittier than ivory, etc.
the truth is their teeth as rule are SO
exceedingly yellow that they would dis
figure a white person; but by virture of
black skin, hair and eyes they convey
an idea Of extraordinary whiteness.
SLOW is it in regard to false teethY'
Precisely the same thing. When
artificial teeth were first used, the great
objection to them was they looked 50
false; that is to say, they were made as
white as porcelain and deceived no one,
but now the art Of manufacturing teeth
has reached such perfection that every
natural shade has its counterpart. When
the teeth are baked, and before they get
cold, they are plunged into bath Of
mineral water, that imparts certain
shade, and as hundreds Of different so
lutions are used, every conceivable of
shade from white is produced.
when people have lost all their
teeth, and have none to match or act
as guide, how do you decide on
shadeqn
'simply by studying the complexion,
ime of life and tint of lip, but l have
always to overcome the idea of color, for
patients want them as white as they can
be made. l find my most convincing
argument is mounted plate Of teeth
that have not been tinted. They then
see for themselves how ludicrous and
startling the effect would be if put in
their mouths"
"What per cent Of people wear false
teethp
"Well, said the doctor, thoughtfulIy,
''after forty years Of experience and OBJ
servation, I should roughly estimate that
one-third Of the population overeighteen
years wear full sets of teeth; another
third use from two to half set, and Of
the remaining third not more than one in
a hundred have really perfect teeth, and,
contrary to the common theory, these
sound teeth are not infrequently found
in the mouth Of an invalid or delicate
person. whose sole physical perfection
they are. BY the way. this last few
years have made sets for many young
girls Of fourteen"
s'How do you account for thatY~
1.-TWO or three generations OF drinking
scalding hot tea and coffee, eating ice
cream bricks and frozen custards, brush
ing their teeth in the morning instead of
at bed time, which, if 1t is only to be-
done once, is the proper season. and
then the fusion Of races, hereditary ten
dences, ETC., play their part And this
everlasting nibbling Of candy has much
to answer for. Pure candy in itself is
not injurious; but, unluckily, few per
sons have the common sense to use
toothbrush after eating it. AS rule, if
the teeth remain sound in either sex until
they give little or no trouble afterward.
Decay sets in early
"Can teeth be rranspIanted from the
mouth Of one person to that Of anothergu
eyes; but the process is rare and very
painful. A brother dentist tried the ex-
pertinent on himself, and told me he
would rather have every tooth in his
head pulled than 60 through the agony
of feeling teeth strike root in his gum
Another case was that Of q beautiful
young yirginian who lost an upper tooth
and had it replaced BY one from the
mouth Of her colored maid, then slave
The amusing part Of it was that in the
heat and excitement Of the moment the
country dentist pulled the tooth form the
maids lower jaw, and then, ashamed to
confess the truth quietly inserted il in'
the vacant cavity. Years rolled by and
one day, the lady, stranger to me,
called to have tooth extracted I ex=
amined it and exclaimed Madam, this
is one Of the most extraordinary in-
stances in my experience This tooth
properly belongs to the lower jaw. She
was as astonished as ], until suddenly
recollecting 1t was her maids tooth. and
then the mystery was explained
''Are these floating stories Of old men
| cutting a third set Of teeth, truefn