Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-08-20
The Deadly Toothpick

From the Boston Herald.
Do you know" said physician to a
Herald man yesterday, "that the great
American habit of toothpick chewing is
responsible for q very large number of
human ills?" The young man was more
than surprised. He said he'd be glad to
learn just how these evils are wrought by
the apparently harmless and indispensable
toothpick.
"Well," said the physician, "of course l
refer more particularly to the practice of
chewing wooden toothpicks. And when /
modify my statement in this way don't
have any hesitation in reiterating that the
wooden toothpick Is an engine OF destruc-
ton. If you have ever noticed these things
much you have observed that Il good many
people who take their meals Mt restaurants
or hotel cafes, and rush out Immediately
aiferward to business, snatch on the
way toothpick sometimes several
of them, and thrust the little wooden
spears into the mouth. In nine cases out
ten they don't use the toothpick quickly
and as matter of business, but they re-
tain 1t in the mouth after all neces-
sity TOR its function has ceased. They chew
on 1t and wobble 1t about under the Jaws,
and finally the piece of wood is reduced TO
ragged pulp, and then it is usually cast
away. Very frequently small particles of
the wood are swallowed and ! know
one man who was i'll the habit of eating
his toothpick. | became acquainted with
him, because he wanted mo to
give him something to heal his stomach,
which was really in larcerated condition.
The small particles of wood that are swal-
lowed frequently lodge in the walls of the
stomach somewhere, and induce gastric
disturbance. ! know several eases which
proved fatal A man may go chewing
toothpicks for 10 years and never suffer any
Ill effects but his less fortunate neighbor
may chew them for few days and die on
account Oft. tell YOU fact when l say
lots oftroubes with the digestive apparatus
and lots of more serious ailments may be-
and have been by me in many instances,
traced to the use of toothpicks as ] have
pointed out. The habit, | notice, is one
that is growing rapidly, and, aside from
the fact that it is an illbred and rude custom
II is to be detested ON hygienic principles.
found the other day that some restaurants
dip their toothpckS in some aromatic
fluid, like cinnamon, and this tends to
cause big spread Of the hpick-chew-
ing habit. The person who puts one of
these prepared sticks in his mouth can
hardly resist the temptation to chew on it.
It's an awful habit, and I'd like to see
people stop il. "
The Herald man saw his friend the
dentist yesterday, and told him about the
physicians warning and advice, and asked
him what he thought about it, "Well," he
said, smiling, 81 don't know that ought
to talk of such thing. If we fellows give
the public too much advice, whore will
our trade come FROM The fact is, the
habit of toothpick chewing brings the
dentists lots OF customers. In long
practice I've seen how very destructive and
dangerous the wooden toothpick is when
chewed. 1t destroys the gums and the
teeth, its chewed fibres laeerate the bron-
chial passages, get into the throat and head,
and induce catarrh, bad breath and general
Disagreement of the mouth. II were
phianthropist, instead of the dentist, /
should advise everybody to avoid chewing
toothpicks."