Milford chronicle., 1920-10-29
TOOTH DECAY

Decay of the teeth is, without doubt,
the most common disease of humani-
". Very few individuals among civil
ized nations can escape it. Decayed
teeth are becoming more comman ey-
cry year.
Physicians, dentists and the more
enlightened portion of the general
pubic realize, more and more, the de-
structive and deleterious influences of
bad teeth upon the general health.
The reports of the public schools as
to the condition of the children's
teeth are most alarming. Findings of
the draft boards that one-third of our
young men were dentally unfit are
most discouraging.
In most of our public schools when
examinations are made of the teeth
at all, the work is usually done by a
medical examiner or nurse who knows
about as much about teeth as does
the child's mother. When they find a
cavity it is usually so big that the
nerve is exposed A notice is then
sent to the childs parents and with
this warning their responsibility
ceases. What is the usual result?
Many parents are so poor and so
absorbed in the struggle for existence
that they cannot think of the lux
ury" of taking their child to the den
tist. 1t is only after sleepless, agon-
lied nights of excruciating pain from
an exposed nerve or from an liberated
tooth that the child is taken to a
dentist, usually for an extraction. The
tooth is then extracted without an an
and the child is made to fear
the dentist for the rest of his life, be-
cause of the pain.
Other parents in more fortunate fl
nancial circumstances are either ig-
norant of the necessity of having the
baby teeth filled, or think it an ex-
trayagance as they will fall out any
way"
Dentists find it almost impossible .
to convince mothers that the big
teeth in the back of the mouth are
permanent. These teeth come in dur
ng the sixth year and many dentists
seem to be ignorant of the fact that
hey are permanent teeth and the
most important teeth in the entire
lrch. They are the very keystone of
he arch and come in back of the
)aby teeth. The reason that they are
AIKEN for baby teeth is that they do
lot replace the baby teeth.
Where decay of the teeth is allow
ID to take its course in childhood it
5 almost impossible to give salts
actOry dental service in late life.
Where children's teeth are un-
ared for and permitted to decay and
.bscess they form foci of infection,
ausing valvular heart trouble, rheu-
natism, tuberculosis and many other
iseases. When the parents of such
hildren are finally forced to appeal
D the dentist for help it is too late,
Or the roots of these teeth are not
llly grown and if they are liberated
be condition is worse.
Extraction is the only thing that is
ossible, and this causes the other
eeth in the arch to get out of line,
lows food to lodge which in turn
auses more decay, irritates the gums
nd plays havoc generally. Where the
are lost, the jaws have
,st their pillars of support" The
Their teeth fall together, shortening
lie jaw, the lower front teeth ham,
Ter the upper, causing them to pro- |
'ude, thus disfiguring the child for
fe, when they are lost during early
lildhood.
No child's teeth and health should |
2 left to his own care, and even the
ajority of parents are too ignorant !
: Indifferent to care properly for the
ealth of their children. How many I
sople in general know the first thing
)out their physical makeup? How :
any people appeal to the physician 4
: dentist for help until the damage
beyond repair? During the war the -
)vernment asked every male citi- T
n to sacrifice his life if need be. :,
MS being the case, does it not fol- II
W that it is up to the government n
take care of the health of it's peo- +,
e when it asks such a supreme sac k
ice? n
Everything possible should be done P
see that all citizens enjoy the per-
ct health to which all are entitled. L
lly cOmpulsion by the constituted fit
thOrities can accomplish those re- W
rms that we know are for the pub VI
good.