The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-16
THE DEADLY TooTHPICK.
What a Physician and a Dentist SAY
About 1t.
From the Boston Herald.

From the Boston Herald
DO you Know" said physician to &
Herald man yesterday, that the great
Amer. can habit of toothpick chewing is
RESPONSIBLE for very large number of hu-
man i'll I" The young man was more than
surprised He said he'd be glad to learn
JUS how these evils are wrought by the a :
parently harmless and Indispensable tooth
pick.
WELL" said the physician, ''of course I
refer more particularly to the practice of
chewing wooden toothpicks And when |
modify my statement IN this way l don't
have any hesitation III rel Grating uh 1t tie
wooden toothplck is an engine of destruc-
ton. If you have ever noticed these things
much you have observed that good many
people who take their meals at restaurants
or hotel cafes, and rush out immediately
afterward to bust less. snatch on the way a
toothpick, sometimes several of the n, and
thrust the little wooden spears into the
mouth.
In nine cases out of ten they don't use the
toothpick quickly and as a matter of bust
ness, but taey retain it in the mouth af Ter
all necessity for its function has ceased
They cnew on it and wObbe it about under
the jaws, and finally the piecs of wood is
reduced to ragged pulp, aud then it is
ualiy cast away. Very frequently small
NAS'NS 1
know of one man who vas in the habit of
eating his toohpick. ! became acquainted
with him, because he wanted me to give
him something co heal his st mach, which
was really i'll a Rlacera ed condition.
The small particles of wood that
are swallowed frequently lodge in
the walls of the stomach somewhere.
and induce gastri disturbances. 1 knew
several cases waich proved fatal. A man
nhpyViDty al, -
nifty years and never suffer any
Ill effects, but his less fortunate neighbor
may che " them for a few DAYS
ana die on account of it. | tell you fact
when | say that lots of troubles with the
digestive apparatus and lots of more seri.
Gus ailments NAV be, and have been by me
III many Instances, traced TO tue use of
toothpicks as l have p inted out. The
habit, notice, is one that i, growing ran
idly, and, aside from the fact that it is an
lll-bred and rude custom, it is to be detested
on uyglenlc principles. | found the other
day that mo restaurants dip their tooth
picks in some aromatic fluid, like ciunam n
and this tends to cause a big spread of the
Notwithstanding habit. The person who
puts one of tn Sc pre- Jared lcks in his
mouth can hardly resist the temptation to
chew on it. It's an awful habit, and Ia
like TO see people stop tn
The Herdtd' man saw his friend, the
dentist, yeSte day, and told aim bout the
physical 5 warning and advice, and asked
him what he thou hit about it. "Well. y he
said smiling, II don't know that ought to
TX of such a thing If we fellows give the
public too much advice where will our traie
CO ne froml The fact IS, the habit of tooth
pick chewing brings the dentists lots of
customers. In long practico l nave seen
how very destructive and dangerous the
wooden tOothpick is when cheWed II da
stroys the gu rs and the teeth, its caewei
hbers lacerate the bronchial passages, get
into the throat aud head, and induce
catarrh, bad treath and general disfiglre-
ment of the mouth. If l We're a phIlan-
thropist, instead of the dentist, should
advise everybody to avoid che wing tooth
picks"