Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-20
BRUSH YOUR TEETH
AND ALSO YOUR TONGUE
Advice of World-Famous Sur
geon Fortified by That of
Dental Experts.

Brush your teeth. BY all means brush
| your teeth reiiEiously and wei, but foI
| pity's sake brush your tongue, too. Weld
| your brush backward and forward, under
and over, to the north, to the south, to
/ tho east and west, scour II with fervor
| for IL IL In very truth tiny forest OF
dense foliage wherein turks the unseen
enemy.
Every time you open your mouth a
whole regiment Of little microbes charge
through the aperture and take up quar-
ters somewhere In the confines OF your
chewing apparatus. Seek them out and
annlhinte them before sweet sleep en-
folds you; for, fortified with an enormous
capacity for work, they rest not, neither
do they weary and you may awaken IN
the morning to find whole companies firm
" entrenched In the very middle OF your
tongue. II you can't conceive OF your
own particular organ being so invaded
take a microscope and mirror and get
busy.
The statement issued by Doctor Mayo
the Minneapolis surgeon Of national repu-
tatlon that the next step in preventive
medicine should come from the dentist,
sums up in a few simple words the vitally
important relative position Of mouth by
giene to the prevention and eradication
Of disease.
Most important of all," says DR.. David
Smith instructor I'm dental surgery at the
tJniveraltv Of Pennsylvania, rs the care
and attention which should be given the
temporary Tor frst) teeth. Many mothers
neglect this first set, believing their pres
ervation to be of minor Importance These
teeth should be kept intact, so far as
regular cleaning by the child and atten-
ton by the dentist every six months VIII
keep them so, until the permanent (sec-
ond) tooth, having absorbed most of the
root Of its predecessor. erupts and sup
plants It.
"The proper routine in cleansing the
mouth is to brush the teeth thoroughly
(using a rotary motion, as brushing cross-
wise creates edges), using precipltate of
chalk. Many of the popular tooth pastes
contain pumice and are highly injurious
to the enamel.
Next and this cannot be emphasized
too emphatically, run dental floss be
tween the teeth TO dislodge food which
mas become wedged there, as the tooth
brush never reaches these points, which
are many times the centres of decay.
"Then, above all. do not neglect to
brush your tongue, as the tiny follicles
are veritnble breeding places for mi
crobes, as one look through the micro
scope would convince you. Brush the
gums also, as It strengthens them and
"a mouth wash of salt and water is as
good as anything on the market pre-
scribed for this purpose, and don't forget
to cleanse your brush before putting it
away, as a germ-laden toothbrush is a
mcnaGe to the gums.
America leads the world In this pro-
fession and Philadelphia is the home of
dentistry. Children of this city have
better teeth on the average than the
children of other cities
diet plays a significant part in the con-
dltion of the teeth" continued Doctor
Smith The negro is seldom troubled
with decaying teeth, nor are the lower
and 1t is because they are not
given to eating rich, greasy foods, which
causes fermentation in the stomach,
which in turn produces an acid condition
In the mouth. The whole human economy
Is so constructed that the poisonous fluids
Of the stomach. resulting from undigested
foods. return through the system into the
glands emptying into the mouth, and
cause much OF the havoc we discover In
our work on the teeth
THE oral hygiene movement in the |
United States, while worked out on diff
ferent lines in different centres the |
schemes Of treatment being reparative in
some instances and preventive In others,
Is accomplishing a great deal. Tooth |
brush drills. prophylactic treatments and |
personal instructions are being given in |
some of the public schools of the coun-
try. Reading believe, 10 meeting with |
success in this method of educating the |
children" !