The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-04-30
BY FRANCIS P. BARNES, DDS.

knOWledge Of man. From the skulls found in Egypt and elsewhere dur ing archaeological excavations 1t is apparent that this disease has ex- isted since prehistoric times.
 In recent years 1t has become more widespread than ever before. The statement has been made that dental decay is the most prev alent disease of civilized nations, affecting 9096 of their population.
 In the olden days decay of the teeth was accepted and borne by the people as blight from the AL mighty. A tooth decyed to such an extent that 1t gave pain and the person betook- himself to the nearest man who had a reputation for strength, and the extraction of teeth, and the offending tooth was removed, possibly with half the jaw.
 Theory of Decay
 One of the first theories regard ing the decay of teeth according to the writing was formulated in 1875. It was thought that it was due to the action of acid which in a chemical way dissolved out the lime salts from the enamel.
 The next theory was that bac- teria were largely responsible and there followed an era of belief that cleanliness was the most irn- portant factor in preventing tooth decay. "A clean tooth will never decay" became the slogan. Great stress was placed on the cleaning of the teeth and the teaching of mouth cleanliness by the dental hygienist.
 However, according to recent stu- dies on dental decay 1t has been concluded that not only mouth cleanliness is big factor, but also diet is very important to the devel- opment and maintenance of sound teeth.
 From the foregoing remarks 1t is readily seen that dentistry has made impressive strides forward in the determination of the cause of tooth decay. In the earlier days dental science concerned istelf mostly with the repair of teeth, but today, 1t not only attempts to cure, but is well on its way to the pre- vention of carries. This prevention of decay has been actually brought about by studies upon children in various institutions through the use of proper diet containing the elements necessary for sound teeth.
 If your child's teeth are soft and the filings fall out, and there are new cavities at each visit to the dentist don't throw up your hands in despair and blame an unkind fate for the condition, nor should you begin thinking of changing doctors. It would be much more simple to follow out the diet prescribed by your dentist regarding the child's dental ills. You may give the child plenty to eat and the food may be of the best quality-but these foods may not be of the best kinds for building and maintaining sound teeth and bones. A diet may be such as to satisfy the appetite and yet be lacking in certain necessary minerals and vitamins, and the child may be under-nourished though receiving plenty to eat.
 Experiments conducted in Eng land have conclusively proven that diet has a great deal to do with the decay of teeth and diseases of the mouth. Experiments were perform ed upon animals where the feeding of certain foods not only prevented the decay of teeth but in teeth al- ready decayed e wall of sound tooth structure was layed in the tooth to prevent the progress of the decay. In the same animals cer- tain foods were withdrawn and the tendency to decay became readily apparent.
 To quote from @ recent article '.For a practical application of these laboratory reports an investi- gation was undertaken in the tuberculosis sanitoria of Massa- chusetts whereby the diets of the children in the institutions were studied and the teeth examined and charted periodically. Exarni- nations to determine the condition of the cfldrenS teeth were made at four-month periods. As the pa- tients in the three institutions un- der observation were all children and their diets carefully supervised. 1t was an easy matter to learn what they ate and to make those changes which seemed necessary to balance their diets. The diet lists showed that the menus were low in the