The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-27
the child should be given frequent small
doses Of lime water to aid this physolog-

teal process
From the time OF Its birth the child's
mouth should be cleansed morning and
evening. To accomplish this, use tepid
water and salt, or water made slightly
alkaline with a pinch OF powdered borax
A small piece Of soft linen cloth may be
wrapped around the forefnger, dipped In
the water. and gently rubbed about the
child's mouth.
When the temporary teeth are all ..cut,''
which Is usually at the age Of two years,
small. soft brush should be used morning.
noon and night with the alkaline water,
brushing the teeth carefully In order to
reach all the groves. At the age Of 3 the
child should be given brush and be
taught to use 1t properly. The tooth
brush should be concave in shape SO as
to adapt itself to tho curves of the jaws.
The bristles should be medium
OF course. the child will regard the
brush as q plaything at first, but it will
soon become habit to initiate mother
and brush the teeth upon rising, after
each meal. and before retiring. The
mother should emphasize the fact that it
Is just as necessary to keep the teeth clean
as the little hands. Indeed, 1t Is really
more important. for soiled hands will not
cause half the mischief that soiled teeth
will and Just because they are out Of
sight is no reason why they should be
"out of mind" any more than hands or
face.
In pointing this moral the mother may
adorn her tale with homemade jingles,
which the children will soon commit to
memory and apply. For instance
Because the teeth are out of sight
Forget them not, but treat them right.
And again she will remind them by say
ing:
Be sure prd keep your teeth snow white
Or food will never taste Just right.
Sometimes she will tell how to brush
them by humming the Jingle,
Once said a dentist Of renown np anu IOWA.
She will also teach the children, as soon
as they are old enough to understand that
the eating of sweets and acids to excess,
the taking Of medicine, cracking nuts and
picking with pins or wooden toothpic1s
are all injurious to the teeth. To impress
these truths upon their minds she will
set good example, and when particles of
food become wedged between the teeth
she will use a quill instead Of a wooden
toothpick. Dental floss will nearly always
serve the same purpose, and the toilet
tables Of children should be kept supplied
with this necessity, which is Of quite as
much Importance as washcloths and tow
els. And so. after each meal, until the
children fall into the habit, they are re-
minded of their duty by the mother say
| ing,
| The toothache always makes one cross;
| 1t won't If you use dental floss.
| It is not necessary to use toothpowder
more than once a day; in fact, it is in
! furious to the dentine to do so. The pow
der must be both alkaline and antiseptic
and it Is better to use it in the morning
upon rising, brushing the tongue as well
as the teeth. The following prescription
| is thoroly reliable, If compounded by a
careful druggist:
"Precipitated chalk, one ounce; powdered
resorcin. powdered n1yrrh and powdered
CASTLE soap, each fifteen grains, with
few drops Of wintergreen added to flavor
| 1t. If a sweet taste Is desired, half
grain of sacharrin may be added to one
ounce of POWDER"
Genuine CASTLE soap and tepid water
make good tooth wash. The following Is
also recommended for the same purpose:
Benzotc actd one drahm; tincture eucalyp-
tus, five drahms; absolute alcohol four
ounces; oil Of peppermint, fifteen drops.
| Great care should be taken in brushing
the teeth not to irritate the gums and
make them bleed, as this will cause them
to retract. N
There was tine not many decades ago
I when parents paid no attention to the tenn
! porary teeth, arguing that toothache was
as natural sequence to childhood as
mumps or measles. Nowadays enlightened
people think differently for they realize
that child with broken down or painful
teeth cannot masticate its food properly,
and that the digestion will be impaired
unless dental care Is given. The stom-
ach and intestines will soon become en-
feebled by the excessive labor which thus
falls to their share, and they will finally
refuse to act at all. The result will be
an offensive breath and vitiated saliva,
all OF which often results in swelled face
and assesses.
Instead of such an unnatural eruption,
II the temporary teeth are cared for prop
erly they will be retained much longer and
when 1t IS time for the permanent teeth
to appear the latter will have absorbed the
entire strength of the temporary teeth,
and the taking out of the crown of the
! baby TOOTH" which is merely attached to
the gum tissue, will be painless.
There Is no excuse for children having
poor teeth, and 1t is nothing less than
criminal for q mother to neglect her chill
dren in this way. A reliable family dentist
Is Of quite as much Importance as a fam
lily physician, and the teeth should be ex-
amined frequently, SO that, in case de-
cay has begun, 1t may be arrested in it's in
cipiency. The suffering, too, will be much
less than at a later period when decay has