The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-12
IMPOR TANT FACTS
CONCERNING TEETH
Special to The Globe

| Special to The Globe
| LONDON, April 11.-That hitherto
almost hackneyed phrase. the "Ameri-
can invasion" may soon be uttered with
a new significance. People here have
been so accustomed to associate the
| shlbboleth with matters concerning
| high finance or high society, that they
have lost sight of the very pertinent
| application of it to another notable de-
Velopment-the increasing number of
dentists from the United States who
| seek and find profitable field for the
| practice of their profession in the
United Kingdom - ..f.-
That American dentistry is advanced
In It's methods as compared with those
or european dentistry, is a pretty we'll
established fact as is the further one
that It's superior skill receives practi-
cal recognition In liberal patronage
from the public in these islands.
How seriously the American dentist
regards the relation of his science to
the general veal of mankind, may be
judged by a conversation l have lust
mad with a very successful practitioner
here.
He said: "Of all the stignata of de-
generation none are more character
1st1c of certain conditions perhaps than
the teeth. While all parts of the body
may, under certain conditions, present
abnormal condition and DEVELOPMENT
we have nothing more uniform and
persistent than particular forms of de-
parture from health in the shape and
arrangement and disease of the teeth
IN certain degenerated results of hered-
lty L shall only generalize in my re-
marks and shall therefore say it rather
dogmatically. These indications of de-
generacy are observed in the teeth
tod
the first appearance of the teeth in re-
latlon to degeneracy is their non-ap-
pearance, or much delayed appearance.
as In ricketts,. While ricketts, has been
recognized generally as disease due
TO NAL nutrition and insanitary sur
roundings, late researches have shown
US that 1t is associated with tdegenera-
tlon and prenatal changes and should
be assigned place along with affiic-
tons known as degeneratiVe, such as
ldiocy or scrofula. t
The eruption of the teeth in ricketts, is
usually delayed and they are irregular in
SOFT and spongy and bleed so easily that
the disease has been COMPOUNDED with
scuryy; In idiocy. cretinism and feeble
hlihoed children the teeth usually indi-
cate the degenerative condition very ear
~ A visit to one of our idiotic asylurns
or to the hospital for epileptics will show
an astonishing assortment of abnormal
tooth development in patients where the
disease IS the result OF degeneration and
not merely accidental. They are irreg-
ular In shape, position and size. and de-
cay very early in life. In the degenerate
cohdltlon caused by inherited syphilis the
Teeth furnish the most reliable and uni
FORM guide to knowledge of the true
condition. 1t consists In the dWarfine of
the tooth, which is usually both narrow
and snort and in the atrophy of its mid
ole lobe, This atrophy leaves a single
broad notch vertical in the edge OF the
tooth and sometimes from which notch a
ShalloW furroW passes upward in both
anterior and posteriOr surfaces, nearly to
the gum. This notchtng is usually sym
metrical 1t may vary in degree in DIFF
rerent cases, sometimes the teeth diVerge
and at other times slant toward each
other
Many abnormal conditions of teeth are
found in congenital epileptics. feeble
minded and idiotic. The teeth are mostly
dWar1ed. In some instances the space Is
Wide and irregular. Often even the incis-
Ors are found decayed and broken off be-
tore puberty. The size and shape OF the
teeth, and their position. frequently pro
truding forward so as to elevate the up
per lip and push out the. lower lip. and
give a horrible grotesque appearance to
the degenerate. l well remember how
the dreams of my younger boyhood were
poisoned by neighboring degenerate
whose canine teeth prOtruded through
his lips like the great tushes of a wild
boar.
"Of course this feature is frequently as
centuated by unduly short lips, which in
turn are often the stigmata of degenera-
tlon. 1t IS important to remember that
the relationship between diseased teeth
and many other diseases is quite init