Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-06-02
THE AMERICAN CHILD AND THE
DENTIST.

Most long suffering little American
children seem to regard the dentist as an
essential part of growing up. They know
they must have clothes and medicine.
ana lessons and occasional punishment and
precious Saturday pay-time snatchcd
away for dismal hours at the dentist.
They expect as much to have their
teeth filled just as often as they do to
have new hats and new shoes or Christ
mas presents at midwinter. And an oc-
even boast of her gold Filings, as an old
fashioned country baby might of her
gold curs.
Apparently children are trained to
think the dentist a necessity, and grown
people are muck the same. We seem TO
have forgotten that people have a right
to sound teeth. that teeth belonging to
healthy people should he white and strong
and perfect such teeth as North American
Indians and South Sea Islanders have,
Of course there is a reason In the first
place for teeth of over civilized people
losing strength ana working power The
gums like muscle les need friction to keep
up a good circulation. A muscle that
isn't used gets f1abbv and incapable, and
teeth that are not exercised, as II We're.
get lfelcss and either loosen or decay.
The reason teeth do not get enough
friction nowadays is because they were
| originally intended to gnaw bones and
chew gristlc and now that these primitive
foods are regarded as inccEant and that
! the teeth are used mainly for polite
cereals and tender meats, there is practi-
cally no friction and hence but little cir
culation in the gums And now comes
all sorts of troubles Of a -paraletic
condition.
But fortunately there is remedy for
this condition and Il very simple and in
expensive one. 1t is nothing more or less
that the right use of stiff tooth brush.
And his does not mean tearing up the
gums as though one We're blowing In a
spring meadow or bringing such pressure
on them at the edges of the teeth that
they are picked and hurt; it doesn't mean
doing any sort of foolish thing and hop
ing to get good results. What it does
mean is to get a moderately stiff brush
and to use it with intelligent vgor twice
a day on the upper part of the gums,
both inside and outside; get good brush
and one with knob at the end so that
| the bristlcs con reach the utmost part
OF the gums. and a large brush; a very
| narrow brush is much more apt to cut
the gums. Use the brush two or three
| minutes, at least long enough to start a
glow in the gums
| Sometimes, even il the brush is most
carefully used, tho gums will bleed at
first, but this only mems that they are
! in an intlamed and aenomiC condition and
particularly need this treatment. Healthy
gums Will not bleed when they are brush
ed unless the brush is carelessly used so
that they are cut with the bristlos.
| 1t is not nearly so necessary to Use
| tooth powder as it is to make sure that
water is soft and pure, a sure way to &C
! complish this is to add to a mug of water
| a tiny pinch of BoraX. This softons the
water so that IT becomes perfectly
cleansing. hardcns the gums lessons the
| tendency to bleeding and is also highly
antiseptic, freeing the mouth from all