The Daily Missoulian., 1909-03-30
THOUSANDS OF TEETH
NEED ATTENTION
EXAMINATION OF MOUTHS OF
SCHOOL CHILDREN SHOWS
STARTLING CONDITION..

| aminatio 4,44S teeth which are in
2,501 defects are found, in teeth of the
boys and 1,437 in those of the girls.
| All of these teeth too were found in
the examination of S54 pupils, showing
an average of 5h bad teeth to each
pupil. out of the whole number only
33 were found with perfect teeth, 16
| of whom were girls and II boys. The
| examiner also found that there were
| S19 teeth which needed cleaning by a
dentist and that there were only 274
children out of the whole 814 who
used "A tooth brush once a day.
| The foregoing figures are among the
| most interesting of those found in the
report of DR.. Rider to the school
board in which he explains his work
| in the following terms:
The object of dental examination
| is to educate the children in the
proper care of their teeth. After the
examination proper is completed, the
value of the permanent teeth, the
great Importance of caring for the
temporary teeth is explained, also the
| reason for recommending the extrac-
ton of teeth. The proper manner of
caring for the teeth is brought to the
attention of the child. A tooth brush
best adapted for this purpose is rec
commended A brush having the
bundle of bristles far apart is much
to be preferred to one where they are
close together In the former, food
particles are not so likely to lodge
between the bristles and decompose,
and it has the further advantage of
dying more rapidly.
Each boy and girl, on an average,
has five and one-half teeth needing
attention. or this number two and
one-haf are of the permanent set.
Frequent dental examinations have
many advantages. Cavities are found
while small, which means that fill
ing can be placed with little or no
pain. Children dread visiting the dem
tist because the tooth is allowed to
decay until large cavities form and
the consequent pain drives them there.
The first permanent molar, which is
the first of the permanent teeth to
appear, erupts when the child is 6
years old. This tooth is often mis-
taken for a temporary tooth because
it has no predecessor and appears
soon after the baby teeth have erupt-
ed. Many children have neglected this
tooth for the above reasons and con-
sequenty have lost the largest and
most important of the permanent
teeth. Each child, on an average, has
three temporary teeth in need of filling.
Few parents realize the value of the
portant to the child as the permanent
teeth to an adult. A child cannot
chew it's food properly If it has had
several teeth extracted. The stomach
cannot perform its work when the
food has not been thoroughly masti
Gated. The child cannot be healthy
and strong if the food is not prop
ery digested, consequently the child's
school work is impaired because of
lack of a strong constitution. The
temporary teeth are not only for the
mastication of food but to retain
spaces for the second teeth. The early
loss of the first teeth often causes
a crowded condition of the second
teeth. The baby molars especially
must be kept in position until their
places. because they assist the first
permanent molars in taking proper
position. The appearance of this
latter tooth stimulates the growth of
the jaw forward, causing the lower
portion of the face to be in harmony
with the upper. When the temporary
molars are lost early it is likely that
the permanent molar will appear fur
ther forward in the mouth, causing
either a crowding of the permanent
teeth when they appear or a pro-
trusion of the lower jaw.
Cavities in the temporary teeth are
as painful to the child as cavities in
the permanent teeth. Neglect of these
teeth not only means toothache, but
food will collect in the cavities, de-
compose, effect he pulp and an abcess
forms. An abcess, enormously called
an liberated TOOTH means pus forna-
tion, and the flow of this into the
mouth and thence into the stomach
will not tend to the upbulding of the
child's health. Thus we see that tenn
porary teeth are there to masticate
our food, hold space for the perman-
ent teeth and to aid in the growth of
the jaws.
The extraction of a tooth was in
dicated in 25 per cent of the children
Almost half of the teeth to be re-
moved were of the second set. This
was recommended because they could
no longer be made useful to the child
and were likely to ache and assesses
form at any time The temporary
teeth were to be removed so as to
permit the incoming permanent tooth
to assume its proper position in the
mouth. Many of the permanent teeth
do not appear in their places because
the temporary teeth have not been re-
moved at the proper time. Their long
retention does as much harm as their
early loss. Oftimes a child has use
of only half because of their loss.
The examination indicated that every
boy and girl was in need of having
the teeth cleaned. Green and dark
brown stains We're found upon
the teeth, which ought to be removed.
The green stains, if not removed,
will dissolve the outer part OF the
tooth structure, causing the formation
of a cavity. The brown stain does
not tend to cleanly condition of the
mouth and therefore should be re-
moved. Children's parents put forth
special efforts to see that the child's
hands and face are clean before going
to school Whv ShOul6 not the teeth