The daily sentinel., 1909-07-07
CRUSADE FOR TEETH.
[special 10 The sentinel. !

health of New York and thousands of
thoughtful people who yearly give
much of their time and effort to the
betterment of sanitary conditions
among the multitude of pupils of the
city's public schools. have turned
their attention to the care of the
teeth of children.
This new field of sane and sensible
endeavor in behalf of the children.
especially those of poor parents. was
brought about by recent investiga-
tions as TO the health conditions in
the schools.
When it was found that the vast
majority of the children We're utterly
neglectful of their teeth; that they
were suffering from decayed and de-
caying molars. and that. as a result.
their physical welfare was at stake.
the new field of humane endeavor
was instantly opened
Miss Dorothy Whitney. daughter
OF the late William G. Whitney, in
connection with the admirable work
OF the Children's Aid Society immedi-
ately became interested She is one
OF the pioneers in getting at the
source of this evil and Graduating il
as quickly as possible.
When it is considered that proper
mastication of food is one of the first
requisites to proper digestion. and
the consequent maintenance of a
healthy existence. the report OF exam
nations of childrens teeth made by
Dr. Wallace T. VanWinkle among
children applying for permits TO leave
the public schools and start work is,
to say the least. ominous.
nr Van NNfnlyIa
children who We're anxious to start
in life and who should have had, at
least the advantage of good health
with which to begin the struggle in
shops, stores or factories at their ten
der age. OF the 1856 examined, only
IA were found with sound teeth
In these 1876 little mouths. DIR. Van
Wrinkle found 2,S0S unsound teeth.
He also found 4l9 cases in which the
molars did not meet fairly thus caus-
ing imperfect mastication
II only fourteen cases of good.
sound teeth We're found in the course
of the examination of nearly 500 chill
dren, the number of little ones who
are properly equipped in this most
important regard. among the hun
dreds of school children of the great
er city must be SO small as to be in
significant
The money that the city spends
ON so many things of less import
anee. said one man interested in the
care OF the children, in the nope that
their good health will make of them
good citizens, would easily bring a
child out of the public schools in
line, sound condition. The appropri-
alton for a junket OF aldermen. or a
celebration either of which generally
opens up the suggestion of graft.
would provide the children with tooth
brushes and tooth powder. and, what
they do not learn at home because OF
the ignorance or poverty of parents,
they could be taught at school-that
is personal sanitation.
"A good cleaning of the teeth be
fore lessons and after lessons would
mean vast Improvement The cost
would be trivial and the gain would
be incalculable.
DR.. X. V. Constable, one of the
leading dentists of the city. says that
the cause of the bad condition of the
teeth of children in the public schools
was usually due to neglect in early
childhood, The first teeth, he said
should be given as much care as the
permanent teeth.
Mothers, as a rule" he said ''do
not give the teeth of the little ones
the care that they should The ba-
bys teeth should be carefully
brushed from the time it is 3 or 4
years old. Then, too. the first teeth
should not be extracted too soon. Mo-
Tiers regard these first teeth as of
little Importance, knowing that they
VIII fall out and be replaced.
Very often they extract them en-
tirely too soon. They should be al
lowed to remain until they are
pushed out by the permanent teeth
Then. again, mothers make "A mis-
take in feeding their little ones soft
food. They should have solid food,
and might almost say tough food in
order to give the teeth strength.
Children's teeth decay rapidly
and therefore they should be thor
oughly cleaned after each meal One
thorough cleaning is better than sew
'en inferior cleanings The powde:
should be washed clear of the teeth
for, II 1t is allowed to remain. it will
do as much harm as particles OF
food. "