Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-08
EVEN, SNOWY TEETH
Americans Have the Best in the
World.
THEIR FLASHING WHITE SMILE
Early Ruin That Overtakes the
British Grinders.
THE TOOTH BRUSH MISSION

Written for The Evening Star.
That Americans are blessed with the
finest whitest and best cared for teeth or
any race in the world the observant globe
trotter stands ready to testify. From the
negro porter who takes your bag at the
hotel entrance to the leader of fashion who
gives you cup of tea in her Louis XVI
drawing room, that flashing white Ameri-
can smile is one Of the most distinct ana
delightful impression made on the returned
native or the visiting foreigner. There Is
no doubt about it that those stunning rows
of even, snowy, weli-cared for teeth give
the whole nation an aspect Of physical
vigor, cleanliness and charm that is pain
fully lacking in Europe, for instance.
Shocking Neglect in England.
Wander a year or two about the old
world and you will grow almost accustomed
to the general appalling neglect, not only
of dental surgery, but Of all simple, COM
mon precautions for the preservation of the
teeth. In England, of all the other coun-
tries, this wholesale disregard for person
al comfort, health and appearance is most
painfully glazing. Among well-bred and
well-to-do folk it is the rule and not the
exception to see children permitted to grow
up in the darkest ignorance of the mission
of toothbrush. English men and women
WuO T6SdEu lieu pdlIl DIS d ISlSiOuS uuls
and tidy dress as the badge Of common
decency will be more exercised over the
keeping up Of their back fences than the
nice condition of their front teeth. Chill
dren who are born with uniformed jaws
are allowed to grow up with this disfigure-
ment, which little care could easily have
corrected, and 1t is not in the least I'M
common to see men and women Of twenty
five all but toothless or enduring the trials
of complete and clumsy sets of false ivo-
rleS.
Whether 1t is the result Of prodigious
| consumption Of sweets or the conse-
quences of neglect through generations,
the Englishman's teeth are evidently of an
inferior quality, color and shape, while
| the American passion for diets and for dem
lists has probably resulted in teeth which
for quality and beauty are simply un-
equaled anywhere else
American Dentists.
OF course. a good deal Of the credit is
due to the dentists, who are world-famous
So skillful indeed, that 1t is no uncommon
thing to meet aboard a swift western-bound
ship Americans whose homes are estab-
lished abroad, but who run over once In a
while to have some well known doctor Of
dentistry look over their mouths. The dyed
in-the-wool Anglo-maniac. or the convert
to Partisan life all agree that there are no
trustworthy dentists outside the United
States, and they will also aver that the
American abroad Is not now so easily iden-
ClIl6O Dy MS or Qer accent as by the Deau-
tfful teeth that smile will reveal.
The abilities of our dentists have not
been slow, however, to work an influence
on the minds of our English brethren. The
American wives of English husbands have
given the tooth brush a boom throughout
the united kingdom by enforcing its scrupu-
lous exercise in their nurseries, and in Lon
don society the common excuse for a trip
to the states is Ito have one of those capt.
tai Yankee dentists run over my molars,
don't you know"
The Art of Restoration.
What really seems to have conquered all
foreign prejudice in favor of the Yankee
methods is the ability with which the ex-
pert in the profession can build fairly pre-
sentaDle front row out of the wrecks Of
long neglect or the poorest material. To-
day, in fact nothing is impossible to the
American dentist short of making new
teeth grow in the jaw of an adult In the
minds of some enthusiasts there is a belief
that the day will come when even that
miracle will be performed, so great have
been the wonders worked by specialists.
1t is the specialist who is all supreme in
dentistry; and the one over whose skilled
hands more hot tears of honest gratitude
and admiration are dropped is the genius
who Yields the forceps. In the good old
days any village blacksmith or kindly horse
doctor would pull tooth, and was often
called upon to exercise his muscle. Today
it is not an uncommon thing for consulta-
molar before it's eviction is decided upon.
and then, when the sad news is conveyed
that the sufferer must have 1t out, the
family dentist sends the patient to a sur
geon dentist, whose business is exclusively
that Of pulling teeth.
He Is always q specialist of profound
knowledge and exquisite skill. aided in his
operations by an assistant, and guaranteed
to do the business with dispatch and almost
without pain. No cruel decorations, abor-
tive efforts, dangerous bleeding or ex-
Quisite pain accompanies the deft opera
ton Of this man Of science and experience
The patient Is treated with all the consid-
Grafton and precautions of one about to lose
limb, and when the tooth is lifted out 1t
Is done SO swiftly, so painlessly and SO
tidily that sometimes ocular demonstration
is necessary in order to convince the pa
tient that the inevitable has happened
Dentists Direct Diets.
What, after all. the expert family dentist
does these days is to watch and clean the
teeth fill cavities. direct the diet and pre-
vent encroachment Of disease. His chief
care is to guard against the inroads of uric
acid In the system, and when a gout-in-
fected mouth Is shown him he will advise
doctor whose speciality is the treatment of