p. 255 | Care of the Teeth by Country Gentleman

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, Cal. · Aug 21, 1879

Care of the Teeth.

By Country Gentleman

Rosseau said that no woman with fine teeth could be ugly. The too early loss of the first teeth has an unfavorable influence upon the beauty and duration of the second. The youngest should accordingly be made to take care of them. All that is necessary is to brush them several times a day with a little ordinary soap, or magnesia and water. After eating, the particles of food should be carefully removed from the teeth by means of a tooth pick of quill or wood, but never of metal. Camphorated and acid tooth powders are injurious, both to the enamel and the gums, and if employed, every particle should be removed from the gums by carefully rinsing. The habit which some ladies have of using a bit of lemon, though it may whiten the teeth, and give a temporary firmness and color to the gums, is fatal to the enamel, as are all acids. No one, young or old, should turn their jaws into nut-crackers; and it is even dangerous for women to bite off, as they often do, the ends of thread in sewing. It is not safe to bring very hot food or drink, especially if immediately followed by anything cold, in contact with the teeth.—Country Gentleman.