Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-06-04

In their statement of prlnclI
should be available to all. Pro-
grams should be based on the
prevention and control of den
tai disease, and should first be
used to provide dental treatment
for children and eliminate pain
and infection for adults. 1t is OBJ
vious from the principles they
have stated that they recognize
that a healthy mouth is impor-
tant to personal health, appear
ance and comfort, and are taking
the steps necessary to make 1t
easy to carry outh the preventa-
tive program throughout the
country to protect the mouths OF
children.
A number of surveys made in
recent years in various places in
the country show that as high as
half of the two year old children
have one or more decayed teeth,
and that by the time children
reach school age they usually
have three or more decayed teeth.
By the time a group of children
are old enough to go to school
900 of them have some dental
disease.
1t is generally accepted that a
dental program for the protection
of childrens' mouth must be
based first on education and
second on dental care.
A somewhat similar education
al program is being used in many
schools throughout the state, un-
der the direction of the Dental
Division of the State Health De-
partment, to improve the childs
understanding of his teeth and
make dental examinations and
treatment a pleasant educational
experience. Contests, gold stars,
pink slips to be signed by the
dentist and other promotional
methods are used to stimulate
children to want good teeth and
a clean presentable mouth.
Professional opinion on the
ways to protect children's
teeth has gone through a number
of developmental stages in the
past few years, but so far none
of these has been fully realized
We hear a great deal about nu
triton being important In the re-
velopment of sound teeth. Mos'
people fail to realize that this Is
Important only during the period
when teeth are being formed.
After teeth are formed nutrition
has little affect on them. The
first teeth start developing lone
before the child is born, so the
building of sound teeth in early
childhood must be based on the
diet and care received by the
mother during pregnancy. The
first permanent teeth start their
development at about the time
of birth though the first of them
will not be seen until the child Is
six years of age. The last teeth
to develop are the wisdom teeth
or third molars, which erupt In
the late teens. Proper diet con
tanning a suitable balance of min
erals is necessary during this
whole period in order to insure
that the teeth are made SOUND
during the developmental stage
But, | must emphasize, that az
ter a tooth is once formed nc
dietary factors are likely to
change 1t.
Another factor that has beer
considered quite important IN
tooth decay is constant bathlne
of the teeth in a sugar solution
Persistent use of candy and fail
ure to remove starchy foods from
the teeth soon after eating is be-
Ilieved to allow bacteria to pro
duce acids that eat OIL the
smooth enamel of teeth. Dam
aged enamel opens the way to in
fectiion, decay and cavities. This
has been argued pro and con BY
dentists and research scientists
for years but it is quite obvious
that acids are formed by the de-
cay of sugars and these acids
can damage enamel, so it prob
ably is wise in the interests o.
dental health to restrict candy
intake particularly at times wher
il is likely not to be followed BY
tooth brushing.
The filling of decayed teetf
has been considered an importan
factor in preventing the forma
ton of cavities. Yet, recent stud
les indicate that in spite OF I'LL
ing the formation of new cavities
4. goes on at about the same rate
However, periodic dental exam
ination that allows the detection
land filling of very small cavities