The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-03-02
CARE OF THE TEETH
MOST PEOPLE PAY TOO LITTLE
ATTENTION TO THEM.

The Most Common CAusee of Bad
Teeth-Acid Injuries Teeth More
Than sweets-The Most Important
Rulo to Follow to Preserve Them.
1t Ia curious what little attention
people pay to their teeth. II anyone'S
boots begin to wear out he has them
repaired at once, and when a button
gets loose he has it sewn on, but un-
less bad toothache drives him to the
dentist he will let every tooth in his
mouth wear down to stump without
giving it thought.
OF course the result in most cases ia
bad dyspepsia, besides an exceedingly
ugly Disagreement of the mouth.
Yet nothing is eaAier for people of or
binary good health than to keep sound
teeth in their heads until they have
reached a good old age. But to do this
they should begin 10 take care of them
when comparatively young.
One Of the commonest causes of bad
teeth is taking food too hot. When
you drink cup Of very hot tea the en-
amel covering of the teeth expands.
and afterward, when you breathe the
cold air, it contracts. This alternate
swelling and shrinking makes the en-
amel fall to pieces. and once the hard
covering goes the spongy inner SUBJ
stance crumbles away in no time.
To prove how destructive hot food
is, says the Philadelphia Inquirer, q
dentist recently performed an instruc-
tive experiment. lie got glass of hot
and O. glass Of cold water, and placed
perfectly sound tooth first in one,
then in the other, and SO on, back
ward and forward. several hundred
times with the curious result that the
enamel was completely worn off.
Every one knows the injurious ef-
fects of acid on the teeth. Yet many
foolish girls drink vinegar to make
their faces pale, and. as they think, in.
teresting. OF course the teeth pay the
penalty. A young girl who consulted
me lately had lost almost every tooth
in her head from sucking lemons. and
some of my most profitable patients
are people given to eating pickles il
is not necessary altogether to avoid
acids, but little jar of bicarbonate Of
soda should be kept on every ones
washstand and the teeth should he
rinsed in water i'll which some Of it
has been dissolved. This. by the way,
is never-failing cure for that kinl
Of toothache that attacks the whole
jaw at once.
Some people say that sweets are bad
for the teeth. l am not quite sure Of
that. West Indians, who actually live
on sugar during the harvesting of the
cane, have worries like snow and with
out flaw. But when ones teeth have
begun to decay the sugar lodges in the
crevices and little microbe, who
makes his home in the mouth, con-
verts it into acid. This acid, of course
attacks the phosphate of lime which
composes the dentine, and then, GER
tainly, sugar is bad
But cracking nuts with the teeth Ia
destructive. II you crack nuts you are
sure also to crack the enamel There
fore, don't crack nuts. Put them on
the ground and stamp on them.
Tooth powders and tooth washes are
answerable for many toothache and
decayed tooth. The powders usually
sold are gritty; pastes contain injuri-
Gus chemicals, and though both help
to clean the teeth they inevitably wear
away the enamel. Most Of the washes
such as tincture Of myrrh, keep the
gums more or less infiamed and finally
loosen the teeth. Hard tooth brushes
ruin the gums.
The best way to clean your teeth Is
to wipe them with bit of sponge at.
tached to handle, using tepid water
containing trace of some mild anti
ceptic. If you Use a brush rub it uu
and down, not from side to side.
Smoking tobacco cannot fail to color
the teeth yellow, and probably it weak.
ems the gums and brings on decay
Still, you can scarcely be expected to
do without your smoke for the sake OF
few teeth.
But whatever precautions you take
one or two Of your teeth will probably
begin to go. The moment this hap
pens visit dentist and have the cayl-
ty filled. This is really the most i'm.
portant rule with regard to the teeth.
And you will save money by the opera
ton, for it is cheaper to have a tooth
filled today than replaced twelve
months hence.