Milford chronicle., 1919-10-31
TEETH AND HEALTH
DIET, TEETH, EXERCISE
By r. ALLEN GRIFFITH, D. D. S

Today most people feel that the con.
dition of their own mouths and the
condition of their children's mouths
is their own private affair. We must
get away from this selfish, erroneous
and dangerous attitude. With every
breath from an unclean mouth millions
of pathOgenic micro-Organisms easily
capable of inoeulating another person
with a disease producing germ, are
expelled from one to ten feet.
To the healthy individual it really
matters little how many pathogenic
varieties Of micrO-organisms there
may be or how prevalent they are be-
cause man possesses a natural i'm
munity to infection and is normally
immune.
If this were not true, man would
have been exterminated from the earth
long ago by the nyriads of microscopic
feeds always surrounding him. Just
let the individual reduce his natural
bodily resistance below a certain point
through fatigue, overeating. loss of
sleep, worry, etc, and some little
bug will get you" soon.
The chief concern, therefore, of both
the individual and society at large
should be to maintain this natural i'm
munity instead of trying to discover
cures or remedies for natural condi-
tions that are sure to follow a lower
ing of the natural resistance to dis
ease. Every disease germ that enters
the human system must enter through
the mouth, nose, or a break in the
skin with the exception of venereal
diseases) and it is estimated that 80
per cent of all disease enters and /
multiplies in the mouth.
Should not a clean, healthy mouth
then be the very first consideration in
the prevention of disease?
For about five thousand years dis
ease has been treated in the same old
way. The physician waited until the
patient was very sick and then treat .
ed him experimentally. If one rem
edy did not work he would try another .
Take rheumatism" for instance
certain manual lists about 100 rem
edies for the relief of rheumatic con-
ditions. Over and above these rem
edies used by the physicians we have
the horse chestnut or Irish potato
carried in the pocket and the greatly
advertised magic liniment. Modern
scientific methods, howeevr. are su-
perseding these old mystic and en-
piric methods more and more. The
physician, after centuries of patient.
careful study, has traced most diseases
to their source.
During the present generation the
has proved that there is a
direct connection between unclean
mouths and the rapid increase in kid
ney, heart and circulatory diseases.
formerly attributed to deranged meta
bolism but now known to be due to
poisoning of the sys-
tenn form bacteria and their toxins.
It follows therefore, that the first prin-
ciple of preventive medicine should be
a clean mouth, for cleanliness is per-
haps the oldest known remedy for
either the prevention or cure of dis !
ease.
Sanitation and hygiene can change
the mouth from one of the most in
fected and unhygienic parts of the
body to one that is wholesome, disease
iree and clean, and eliminate it as a :
plague spot for the entire system.
A suitable diet will insure the or
ganization Of normal and efficient
A clean mouth will prevent disease, :
md exercise will insure proper elm :
nation. These three things will in
iure health, happiness and longevity.