Graham guardian., 1900-03-02
DENTAL DECADENCE-
Europeans Are Alarmed Over csn-
dition of Their Teeth.
Medical Authorities Have for scux~
Time Been Exercised by the
Neglect of Juvenile
Hygiene.

Hygiene.
writer in the Dentist has raised
a cry of alarm about the dental de-
cadence of the English people. lie
calls attention TO the early ravages
which carries is making upon the teeth
of English children, and calls for pre-
,entiye measures against state OF
affairs which he regards as a nation
| al calamity" Among 776 children,
whose moaths he examined, he found
| 1881 bad teeth.
! lie is justly alarmed by this figure,
and he calls the attention of all the
schoolmISters and schoolmistresses to
this too-much neglected point of ju-
venile hygiene. The remedy which he
advocates is dental inspection to be
made regularly and systematically
by skilled dentists in all the public
| schools.
If English teeth are in danger, there
is no reason 70 feel more secure con-
cerning the future of French teeth.
The French dentists are not less pes
simistic than the director OF the Eng
lish review. According 10 DR.. Pictlne-
| vicz, out Of the whole number of pa
pills of the public schools brought to
his dental clinic IS per cent. are in
med of immediate treatment, ard by
adding to these the number Of those
who, without being seriously affected,
need careful watching and treatment
sooner or later, the total is brought
up to y per cent. NJ. Daily estimates
the proportion of children who are in
urgent need of dental care 70 be IS
per cent, at least.
A few years ago La Societe de Mede-
cine Pratique did not consider this
question of too little Importance To-
occupy its attention. and after a rigid
criticism, of the manner In which cor
poreal hygiene is in general comprc~
hcnded in the lyceums IL made the
following recommendations:
!. That thepupils of the colleges and
sary care, morning and night, OF their
mouths and teeth.
2. That they be placed In this re-
gard in better practical conditions
than these at present offered them.
3. That they be all sAamine,i at ihe
beginning of each quarter (three
months) session by the dentist at-
taehed TO the establishments.
Have those recommendation been
needed? II is doubtful, for, gensIa.iv,
the dentists begin 10 treat their cliruts
cIily VIXEN it is too late 90 save thg 4.
Many explanations were given of this
earliness of dental impairment among
the children The blame was laid on
dyspepsia, the abuse of sweets, ccr-
tain drinks-such as cider, and on the
quality of drinking water. Sore
spoke of the influence of cerebral f;i-
tigue. DIR. Stilerwood remarked that
with children who stGJy hard g
teeth deteriorate rapidly after these
children enter scbeol, ard nothing
stops the progrese OF. the evil but tak~
ing them from their studies. Accord
ing to Magitot too assidRous applicl-
ten injuries the good developments
and preservation Of the teeth Of the
pupils of the Ecole Polytechnique. An
that is possible and no ono denies the
influence Of these auxiliary conGi-
tons. But the true cause, rest as.
sured OF it, is the neglect or ignorance
of the toothbrush. Many parents, in
this respect, seem to be inspired by
the remark of Calino: "Why do peo-
pie wash their hands every day and
Fever wash their feet2" Children are
taught to clean their faces every dav;
but how many are unaware until the
age of reason, and the age of reason
is sometimes late in coming, that the
daily washing of the mouth and teeth
is as indispensable as the washing OF
the other parts of the body2
On this subject of huccal hygiene.
we must admit the superiority of the'
negroes of Africa.
DR.. Haffin, who practices medicine in
CAMERON, estimates that not less
than As minutes a day are devoted by
everybody in this country TO cleaning
the teeth. AT sunrise each morning,
and after each meal, the mouth is
carefully rinsed, and several times in
addition the teeth are rubbed and
cleansed with dry sand or with the
"tooth-stick."
This stick is root six inches long,
chewed at,both ends. Each native
possesses his own stick, but is not.
above using his neighbor's. The opin-
ion of the natives, indeed. is that the
more they have been used, the better
they are. DIR. Haffin, who declares
The, usage of the "stick" to have bern
satisfactory to him, confesses that he
did not personally verify this latter
stattmc
A physician of the navy used 20 tell
story Of his having had tOothbrushes
distributed 10 his men, whereupon
they, not knowing What use 10 make
of these Instruments, employed them
in polishing their buttons.
Ard recently n German paper cited
the following. from forest inspect
or: This worthy functiopary, watch
iEg The unracking of the trunk of one
of his subordinates, and ulmiring the
way in which the young nan's mother
had carefully furnished BIN with so
complete an outfit, exclaimed; The
fellow even has a toothhrushi
For how many is this toilet article
also an article of luxury!--Courier ics
Etats Unis,