The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-11
IGNORANCE OF MOTHERS.
From Demorest's Magazine.

From Demorest's Magazine.
For lack of a little firmness. and sac
r1tice Of present ease, mothers are more
often than they know responsible for
their childrens growing up with ugly
mouths, deformed Jaws and irregular
teeth. Every one knows how much less
apt baby is to be fretful IL it has the
habit of sucking it's thumb, and it does
not take long for the average nurse
girl to learn to pop the rubber top of
the bottle into a baby's mouth TO stop
its crying. Yet so soft and pliable is
the cartilaginous framework of an in
rants head and face that it is affected
by the slightest pressure if more or
less continuous. The ugly feature
known as rabbit mouth" is more often
than not due to keeping the thumb in
the mouth for hours at time Pro-
trusiOn of the lower jaw Is caused by
sucking the first and second fingers,
the weight Of the hand and arm fore
ing the lower Jaw to project and take
| that permanent form.
Her nose is q catastrophe" said a
| mother recently to me- speaking of a
young lady daughter who would have
been beautiful except for her pudding
| nose'-a slender bridge with an alb
normal development at the nostris-
/ and all caused by her peculiar method
| of sucking her thumb She always
went to sleep with it in her mouth, her
| forefinger clasped tightly over the
] bridge. This arrested the development
| OF the bone, and made the lower part
| OF the nose bulge out whore the pres
| sure Of the finger ceased. Poor child"
! sighed the mother, her beauty spoiled
| through my ignorance!"
Children acquire various habits of
| putting their fingers into their mouths,
| all OF which affect the normal develop
| ment of the Jaws and teeth. Under
hung jaw is due to sucking the tongue,
| which throws the lower jaw from it's
| articulation, and some physicians
claim that what is technically known
as "fruitless sucking" is a sure cause
of jagged teeth and projecting jaws.
| Indeed, so pliable are these parts dur
| ing infancy and childhood that it is
| said that the frequently repeated ac-
| tion Of the tongue striking against the
| front upper teeth in the pronunciation
of lingual syllables gives rise to an
awkward slant of the arch. This de-
|
! lish-spealting people, whose language
abounds in lingual sylables.
Breathing through the mouth is an
| other great cause of deformity of the
| jaws and malformation of the teeth
Sleeping with the mouth open produces
| pressure by the tension of the muscles.
| causing a contraction of the sides OF
| the jaw; 4 protrusion of the teeth and
/ ~ ts..V,
Mouth breathing is, by the way, mat
! ter that parents should never allow ia
| go uncorrected, as it is a sure indica
! tion of enlarged tOnsils or adenOid
! growths-an enlargement of the tissue
! back Of the nose caused by repeated
! colds. These adenOid Srowths partly
! close the eustachian tube, and are the
| cause of almost all the earaches of
| childhood. To cut them out is a very
! simple and entirely safe operation in
| the hands of a skillful specialist. II
! allowed to remain the child is sup
/ posed to have merely continued colds,
and catarrh and deafness develop. Nine
! tenths Of the deafness Of later life is
| due to these neglected adenoid grOwths
! Of childhood, Even children are far
| moro frequently deaf than is imagined.
! They are accused Of heedlessness and
! inattentiOn when they are simply de-
| fective in hearing. Sleeping with the
| mouth Open and inability to breathe
| through the nose are sure symptoms
| of these enlarged tissues
1t is a scientific fact that the jaws of
| civilized men are more contracted and
less regular than those Of semi bar
! barous races, Some advanced dentists
take the ground that children should
not be expected to do any work requlr-
! ing mental application until after the
| appearance Of the permanent teeth
! maintaining that the brain and ner-
vous system Of the growing child
! should not be overtaXed. and that the
| dental process Of attempting TO build
up the organic Instruments and the
| cultivating Of the mental faculties at
| the same time is n matter almost i'm
| possible to accomplish.