The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1886-12-22
CARE OF THE TEETH.
The Necessity OF Keeping them Clean
and In Proper Condition.

and In Proper Condition.
Dyspepsia and bad teeth are common
companions. Their relations az cause and
effect may be controvertible, but that both
are frequently due TO the neglsct Of the
teeth and their proper use will not be dis
puted by any one who is familiar with the
physiological relations of these useful and
much abused organs. The mouth, every
body knows, is the gateway to the stomach,
the commissariat of health, and for its pro-
lection all that is conveyed thither requires
careful selection and due preparation to fit
1t for healthy distribution. Hence how we
eat Is of scarcely less importance than what
we cat. Chewing vigorously exercises and
hardens the teeth, while it also stimulates
the salivary glands to furnish the most es-
sential means of rendering food acceptable
to the stomach and easy digestion, and with
ont good digestion neither the teeth nor any
Of the other organs can be we'll nourished.
That the teeth are commonly the first
to suffer after or contemporaneously with
Indigestion is due to the vitiated secretions
Of the mouth common to dyspeptics. By
this the enamel is softened, becomes easily
stained or loses its lustre, and for this the
tooth brush, often too hard and harsh for
the teeth under the most favorable circum-
stances, is applied too vigorously or too
frequently, and not infrequently with some
mischievous, insoluble powder or corrosive
wash with the common result of destroy
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Tooth brushes should always be soft, and
rarely used more than once daily before
breakfast, which is quite often enough to
remove the insoluble particles of food which
collect at the margin of the teeth. Use the
soft brush with water only, or at most with
nothing else but pure soap in addition.
Soap is not only more cleansing than any
thing else, but 1t leaves sweeter and
pleasanter taste, and is never followed by
Injurious effects. A soft wood stick, TO re-
move hard particles from between the teeth,
and rinsing the mouth with water alone
after meals, is ordinarily quite sufficient to
cleanse the teeth without brushing them.
Metal toothpicks should never be used
under any circumstances, and quilts are, to
say the least, not cleanly.
Chewing pine stick, or better, when ac-
cessible, dogwood stick, is often a very
salutary method Of cleansing the teeth. 1t
causes the saliva to flow freely, and this
dissolves and washes away particles not
easily removed by other means.
On the chemical theories Of decay of the
teeth we have no need TO enter. No matter
what its cause, dentist should be consult
cd on the very first appearance of point
or spot Of discoloration. Properly treated
at the outset II may be recovered for life
time.
All that Is said here of the relations of
bad teeth TO dyspepsia applies equally to
children in the decay Of deciduous teeth.
There is no more certain sign of q dyspeptic,
badly pourished child than tho early decay
of deciduous teeth, or any more certain
means Of promoting dyspepsia and puny
constitution than neglect.
The early decay Of the deciduous teeth
should be an admonition to parents to take
special pains in the selection and prepare
ton of the food with view to strengthen
Ing the digestive organs, including the
teeth, and giving tone to the system. Other
wise an enfeebled constitution will be th,
inevitable result.