HINTS ABOUT TEETH

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 23, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 24.

HINTS ABOUT TEETH.

CHILDREN should be trained from their earliest years to clean their teeth regularly, and to rinse out their mouths after every meal. The best dentifrice is charcoal powder. Besides cleaning the teeth, it acts as a deodorizer, leaving the mouth fresh and free from any fetid odor. There should be no undue indulgence in sugar or “sweeties.” A “sweet-tooth” is uncommonly likely soon to be a “decayed tooth.” Tartar of the teeth is an earthy-like incrustation deposited from the saliva. If, through neglect, it has been allowed to collect round the roots of the teeth, it should be carefully scraped off with some sharp instrument. It is best to seek a dentist’s aid in this matter. Some people are so negligent as to allow such a quantity to collect that a whole row of teeth become firmly soldered together, so that if one tooth requires removal the dentist finds great difficulty in singling it out and extracting it only. A decayed tooth, however painless, which has a sharp edge, or which, breaking off, leaves a pointed stump behind it, should at once be filed, as the irritation caused by the tongue rubbing upon it is a frequent origin of cancer.—Household Words.