The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-07-20
CARE OF THE TEETH.
Important Points In Use of Tootkoz1as
Thas Are Often Neglected.

Important Points In Use Of Tootho-usa
Thas Are Often Neglected.
It is but little thing, says the hog
pital, yet or its proper use dependa
MICH of the happiness of modern man
Why civilized teeth should be SO rotten
is question which has often been de-
bated, and probably the true answer is
more complex than some would think.
Many good mothers are content to put
all toothache down to lollipops, but
that sugar in itself is not responsible
for bad teeth is proved by the splendid
"i7ories'' often possessed by negroes,
who practically live upon the sugar
cane AID thrive upon it, too, during the
whole Of the season when it is in ma
turity.
Dental decay is common enough, how
ever, among negroes in towns, and it
seems clear that the carries Of the teeth.
which is so common among civilized
races, is due not to any particular arti-
Gle of diet so much as to digestive and
nutritive changes imposed upon as By
our mode of life, and to some extent by
the fact that By hook or crook we dc
somehow manage to live, notwithstand-
ing our bad teeth, whereas in g state OF
nature the toothless man soon dies
Recognizing, then, tha5 until the time
arrives when some great social reformer
either mends or ends our present social
conditions cur teeth will tend to rot
and that, whatever the predisposing
causes, the final act in the production
of carries is the lodgment Of microbes on
and around the teeth, we see that fc-
long to come the toothbrush will be a
necessity if the health is to be main
tained.
It is only by frequent use of this lit
tie instrument that those minute accu.
mutations can be removed which are
the root of so much mischief. a few
elementary lessons in bacteriology
would, we fancy, greatly startle many
people and certainly would show them
the futility of trusting to one scrub
day. The fact is that if people, instead
Of looking at the toothbrush from al
aesthetic point of view and scrubbing
away with tooth powders {9 to make
their front teeth white, would regard it
merely as an aid to cleanliness, they
would see that the time to use it is aft
er meals and at night, not just in the
morning only, when the debris left
from the day before has been ferment-
ing and brewing acid all night through.
They would also see how insufficient an
instrument the common toothbrush is
unless it is used with considerable judg
ment.
One of the secor dary advantages of
spending a good deal of money on den
tistry is that at least one learns the
value of ones teeth. By the time we
have got them dotted over with gold
stoppings and gold crowrs we learn to
take care of them. even although that
NAV involve the trouble of cleaning
them more thar. onco a day and using
perhaps more than che brush for tbs
Suitins Both Parties.
Poor Wife (to husband, whose loud
snoring keeps her awakel-Charlie,
Charlie, Go stop snoring. Turn over on
your side. (Nudges him.
Husband, only half awake, grunts,
turns on his side and continues to snore.
Wife has happy iuea. Remembers
line from an article called How to
Prevent Snoring Gives her husband
a second nudge, which elicits another
grunt. 'Oh, Charlie, If you'd keep
your mouth shut. you d be all right.
Charlie (semiconscious}-So would
vo11 y O1dcu Answers