The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-03-16
LECTURES
ON ORAL HYGIENE
To Be Delivered in Richmond
Under Auspices Of the
Dental Society.
DR.. WHEELER, OF NEW YORK
Will Tell Parents and Children Of
Dangers Lurking in the
Mouth.

On Saturday. March %. in the audi
forum of the John Marshall High
School, DR.. Hubert L. Wheeler. of New
lures. one in the afternoon at $3.50
o'clock to the Mothers Clubs and chill
dren of the public schools OF Rich
mond. and one at night to the pro-
lessons and the general public of the
city. and. of course, the lectures are
free to all who wish to attend.
DIR. Wheeler. who comes to this city
to lecture under the auspices OF the
Richmond City Dental Society. is in
charge of the oral hygiene work In the
public schools of New York State. and
is said to be the most eminent oral
hygienist OF this country. Oral ny
giene is. let it be understood. that
health of the mouth and the preserva-
ton of the teeth. and most impor-
tant branch of science il is.
y noted monarch once said: The
health of the people is the supreme
law" This fact is becoming more and
more generally recognized by all civ
ilized nations, and much interest Is
being manifested by the public gen.
orally and n great many of the city
and State governments along the line
OF scientific mouth hygiene, and ply
sicians generally are teaching their
patients the value of the various rules
of mouth hygiene
Views OF High Authorities.
Dr.. Osler, who may be unsound on
the age limit. but is sound along some
other lines, In a recent address before
the students of the Royal Dental Hos
pital of London. said: You have just
one gospel to preach, and you have
got to preach IL early, and YOU have
got to preach 1t late, in season and out
of season. 1t is the gospel of cleanli-
NJ ole nj nf fna
teeth, cleanliness of the throat. These
three things must be your text through
life. Oral hygiene--the hygiene of the
mouth--there is not one single thing
more important to the public in the
whole range of hygiene"
Dr. Osler also makes this rather
strong statement: eff l were called
upon to state which of the two. in my
opinion. causes the most evil-alcohol
or decayed teeth should unhesitat-
ingly say decayed teeth"
Another authority. DIR. Charles Mayo,
of Rochester. in recent address in
Chicago, said: With the mouth. the
port Of entry for most infections. the
dentist is in q field for great advance
ment of medical science"
Looking at it all from the Industrial
standpoint, it may be said that increas-
ed efficiency is the watchword OF civil
lization just now. Business men preach
II and artisans practice il. Increased
efficiency means greater production.
Nothing reduces production as much a.
i'll health. Nothing, SO the dentists and
doctors tell us, produces as much i'll
health a badly decayed set OF teeth
and an unclean mouth Therefore a
very important thing to consider in all
efforts to increase efficiency liz the
health of the producers This is the
object Of all the present world wide
movements grouped under the head of
sociologic and economic problems. The
tuberculosis. the social evil. and the
mouth hygiene movements all are al
lied and all designed to increase eff
fciency.
Diseases From Bad Teeth.
Two great classes of diseases are fos-
tered by unclean and uncared for
mouths The first the doctors call dis
eases of malnutrition. or faulty nutri-
ton. From these come govt, rheuma-
tism. cancer. sluggish liver. gastritis
and score or more diseases These are
the result OF what we eat, how much
we eat and how we eat it,
The second great class OF diseases
directly connected with the condition
OF the mouth. are the infectious dis
eases You are five times more liable
TO infection through the mouth than
through the nose. More than 90 per
cent OF tuberculosis OF the glands of
the face and neck are infected through
the mouth. The doctors assure us that
diphtheria. scarlet fever smallpox and
a host OF other diseases are more Of
ten acquired through the mouth than
any other way.
Scientific observation In the school
rooms has shown that when child is
tuil or disease of an infectious kind
that every time it coughs sneezes or
even speaks. he or she is endangerinc
the health possibly the lives. of other
children, because the germs Of the dis
ease with which II had been afflict