Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-04-26
HAMPTON, Pf1OEBUS AND Old POINT Continued.
why Teeth Fall Out

The discovery of the mlcrobe OF
tootIiessness Is surely one of the
most interesting achievements or sci.
cncc up to date. says the Hartford
Times. II solves much-vexed prob.
lem--a puzzle which, in fact. Is many
thousands of years old. and which
has been a fruitful source of tiscom.
! fort and suffering to- many generations
OF mankind
1t Id not age that causes the teeth
to fall out. compelling the adoption.
in these modern days. of artificial
Substitutes. Most people who suffer
from the anliction begin to- expert.
ence II while yet they are in the
prime of life, aud frequently II com
mences during the twenties. The teeth
are not lost because of decay. Ordi-
narily they are perfectly strong; hut
they loosen ami are lost
One out of every three persons oyer
thirty years of age Is sufferer from
This ailliction. which unfortunately is
| steadily progressive. Unless checked
! py skillfnl treatment. such ms few
dentists know how TO bestow II goes
ON getting worse. though very grad
lually, until most. ii not all. of the
teeth drop ont. Hence II Is that so
many people. beginning even early in
middle life, are obliged to wear false
teeth-the prevalence OF which habit
may he inferred from the fact that
one manufacturer in this country
turns out 100000 artificial tect-
not set, of course. but teeth--every
year.
Becoming Toothless Peonle.
We are becoming toothless pco.
rle--at all events, in the latter part
OF our lives. And this Sfotwithstand
Ing the wonderful, advances which the
art of dentistry has mndei within re.
cent years For it is a fact that only
the exceptional dentist makes any Sc.
rous effort TO retard the progress OF
this particular nalady. which, In the
view of great majority of the pro-
fession, is hopeless from the start
and, therefore. not worth botherng
with
For some time nast. however. sci
entlnc investigation of the subject has
been In progress. based upon the
DRY that some hitherto unidentified
micrd organism was responsible for
the mischief. In this work Sir A. r.
Wright. an English surgeon of emil
nenoe, has been conspicuously con
cerned AS result OF the expert.
ments, tiny bacterium, called n
"staphylococcus.' because II has n
habit of assembling In grape-iko clus.
ters. has been found guilty. and Ia
now held M to just oblo0uy as the
vcritalAe microbe of tootlllessness--
the germ that causes the teeth to fall
out.
Disease May Be Cured.
This is very interesting, of course.
But the really important point Is that
n means has been discovered where
bv. through a process similar to vac,
icinat!on, the disease caused by the MI
crobe in question may be cured. And.
oddly enough. the vaccine" employed
for the purpose is furnished by the
germ itself-a product of It's own he.
ing introduced hy incubation init the
blood stream Of the patient.
When bacteria are bred on gela.
tine In glass tube. after the custo.
mary laboratory method, they feed
upon the Felatine and multiply with
great rapIdtv. incidentally excretins
certain substances which. when ne
cunulated In sufficient quantity. are
poisonous to themselves. 1t is For this
reason that person infected with
scarlet fever or t''nhoid turns the cor.
ner with rocA iuc,O and gets well
after while The germs. which
l have been multiplying in his hodv
and feeding on It's Tissues. IRE Killed
of by the poison which they them
selves have engendered
In the case of tho stnphvlococcns
alhus. or michobe OF toothlessness. ap-
nlfcntiop ;c n,odo &c THO tin, In :,