The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-02
THE CARE OF THE TEETH.
BY s. P. NAHEBs.

Man has always seen the necessity of Exercising proper care for the preserva- lion of his own health, as well as that of the community. and among the earliest writings In existence are found works on the subject of hygiene.
 That the ancients applied their hygienic laws to their teeth. and realized their im- portance, is shown by numerous refer enees to this subject in their records. In the Mosaic law, which treats of the laws Of health in the minutest detail. we find the value of the teeth was appreciated. for it made the loss of one, the price of freedom for slave: If he smite out his man-servantfs tooth, or his maid-ser- wants tooth. he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake" Hippocrates, writ ing four hundred years before the Chris tian era, understood and taught the value of cleanliness of the mouth, for he says: "eleaning the teeth Is a precautionary measure against decay;e also "ulceration and suppunation of the gums can be pre- vented if proper care be given the teeth"
 George Ebers, the great Egypologist, has shown that the ancient Egyptians had special professors of dentistry in their medical colleges three hundred years ago. and there are specimens of ancient dentistry still preserved in mu- seums of Etruian and Greeian origin, showing that these people possessed won- derful skill in replacing the loss of the natural teeth, by means of artificial sub stltutes. The word. "odontotrmma," or
 tooth efu fc In einet Greek; and Galen described tooth powders used by the Greeks and Romans similar to our modern dentrihees
 While We find that civilized people of all ages have realized the importance of caring for their teeth, it is civilization It. self. with it's artificial customs and im- proper diet. that is largely responsible flor the great care which our teeth re- dure. That dental decay is beco4nlg more and more prevalent Is an lniis- ipnted fact: and. is easily shown by recz fords extending back not more than one Hundred years; this too in spite of our advanced knowledge of hygiene, and the wonderful progress made in the science of dentistry.
 While this deterioration in the health Of the teeth may be due to several causes the chief one is found in our diet. The further we have departed from the sim pier forms of diet, the more we have to come to use articles of food which from their easily fermentable nature tend to cause decay of the teeth
 Modern methods of cooking and prepa- ration of food stuffs have violated many of the laws of nature for which we are bound to suffer the penalty. The great sst transgression has been against wheat bread. which would be, if permit sed "the staff of life" but in it's present fnowy white form 1t is inca pablo of per forming that important office. being sobheG of its bone and muscle building properties for the sake of appearance. The reaction in favor of whole wheat 8o.r is becoming stronger and stronger. and as It's use becomes more common. thore will be seen a corresponding inn provemf mt in the condition of our teeth. White -four being largely starch, affords 10 nutrition to the teeth. and from its inc and sticky nature is extremely likely Q remain around them and cause their 1ecay by Fermentation.
 Again, the manner in which our food s prepared affords too little exercise for he teeth, which is just as necessary for them as for any other organ of the body. In countries where courser articles of food are used the teeth show little evil dence of decay the proverbial soundness cf the teeth of the southern plantation slave, who lived on corn bread and veg stables. is an illustration of this fact.
 If we ale to 6aln how to care for our teeth, we should first learn the conditions which carse them to decay, and thus know what we have to combat. First of all the cause of decay comes from with out; it is not an inherent weakness of the teeth that causes their destruction. It Is true that some teeth yield to. bad condi- lions sooner than others; yet all could be saved if their surroundings were perfect ly clean and healthy. Any Arrangement If the system will produce vitiated com 1ltion of the saliva which reacts upon the teeth. Particles of food become 2 lodged in the spaces between the teeth in the pits and fssures of their surfaces and thus produce an acid by fermenta- ton, strong enough to at once attack the enamel Once the surface of the enamel has been broken the conditions for decay become more and more favorable, and the breaking down of the tooth structure progresses more or less rapidly, until the whole tooth Is destroyed unless the pro- cess is arrested by mechanical means.
 Another very prevalent cause of decay IS in allowing an irregular and crowded condition of the teeth to remain, making it very difficult to keep them clean.
 While bacteria of various kinds have been blamed for so many of the ills to which we are subject, they have not es-