The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1904-12-12
Observation-Disclosures
The American Child
and the Dentist.
-et~et-+3~43~
By MARY ANNABLE FANTON.
Observation-Disclosures.

So1( up. They know they must
have clothes and medicine, and lessons
and occasional punishment, and prec-
ious Saturday play-time snatched 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
Christmas presents at midwinter. And
an occasional sophisticated small per-
son will even boast of her gold filings,
as an old-fashioned country baby
might of her gold curls.
Apparently children are trained to
think the dentist a necessity, and
grown people are much the same. We
seem to have forgotten that people
have a right to sound teeth, that teeth
belonging to healthy people should be
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 and working
power. The gums, like muscles, need
friction to keep up a good circulation.
A muscle that isn't used gets fiabby
and incapable, and teeth that are not
exercised, as it were, get llfeless 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 gristle; and now that these prlmi-
tive foods are regarded as inelegant
and that the teeth are used mainly for
polite cereals and tender meats. there
is practically no friction and hence but
little circulation in the gums. And so
now comes all sorts of troubles Of
semi-paralytic condition.
But fortunately there is a remedy for
this condition and a very simple and
inexpensive one. 1t is nothing more or
less than the right use of a stiff tooth
brush. And this does not mean tearing
up the gums as though one were
ploughing in a spring meadow, or
bringing such pressure on them at the
edges of the teeth they are picked and
hurt; it doesn't mean doing any sort of
foolish thing and hoping to get good re-
suits. What it does mean is to get a
moderately stiff brush and to use it
with intelligent vigor twice a day on
the upper part Of the gums, both inside
and outside; get a good brush and one
with a knob at the end so that the
bristles can reach the utmost parts 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 :eow in the gums.
Sometimes, even il the brush is most
carefully used, the gums will bleed at
hrst, but this only means that they are
in an infiamed and aenemic condition
and particularly need this treatment.
Healthy gums will not bleed when
they are brushed unless the brush is
carelessly used so that they are cut
with the bristles.
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
accomplish this is to add to a mug Of
water a tiny pinch of borax. This
softens the water so that it becomes
perfectly cleansing, hardens the gums.
lessons the tendency to bleeding, and is
also highly antisaptic. freeing the
mouth from all possible impurities, and
making the breath wholesome and
sweet.
Where. in addition to this method of
keeping the mouth sweet and clean, a
powder is desired, it is a good idea to
prepare the mixture ones self. making
sure in this way that the ingredients
are all fresh and pure.
The following is an inexpensive but
excellent tooth powder: prepared chalk,
six ounces; powdered orris root, one
ounce; powdered white CASTLE soap,
one-half ounce; pulverized sugar, one
half ounce; borie acid. one-half ounce;
oil of wintergreen. one-half fluid
drachm. Grind all together TO a fine
powder and sift. Add little olive oil
and sift again. This amount Of pow
der should last a family OF four people
at least six months, and if put in
sealed jars viii keep nicely.
A home made wash is also wise
precaution in these days of fake patent
An excellent wash con-
tains both myrrh and borax, the form
er healing and the latter strengthening
the gums. 1t is combined in the fol-
lowing way: Quillaja (soap-bark).
coarse powder, one ounce; orris, coarse
powder. one-fourth ounce; saccharine,
five grains: oil Of peppermint. one-half
oil of wintergreen, one-fourth
drachm; water nine ounces; glycerine,
one ounce: alcohol. six ounces; solu-
ton Of carmine. one drackm. Mix. ma
cerate for seven days, agitating occa-
sionally. and filter.
Even when all possible care and pre-
caution has been taken in the nursery
from the first appearance Of the baby
teeth. it is still wise to have a child |
visit dentist once year just to see
that no possible cavity has come
carelessness or inherited bad |
teeth. If the stiif brush and the borax
water has been used for baby days. ]
The chances are that these visits to the |
dentist viii mean nothing more I'M |