Teeth and Gums, Part 2

How to Live; Rules for Healthful Living
by Irving Fisher, Eugene Lyman Fisk, M.D.

(Page 10 of 12)

General Hygiene

First, the importance of thorough attention to general personal hygiene, in order that a general resistance to mouth-infection may be built up, can not be overemphasized.

Vigorous Use of Jaws

The cultivation of normal eating habits with respect to the vigorous use of the jaws by thorough mastication, and the eating of hard, resistant, crusty foods every day is the next desirable means of tooth and gum hygiene.

Cleansing

A leading dentist expresses the hope that some day the human animal, like other animals, will, through a correct diet, be able to get along without the aid of the tooth-brush; but he adds that, in the meantime, we need to advocate more tooth-, gum- and tongue-cleaning rather than less. They should be cleaned night and morning and after each meal if possible by rapid rotary brushing. Strong pressure is not advisable. Rapidity of movement is the important point. This stimulates the circulation and increases the resistance of the gums and cleanses the teeth at the gum margins from the accumulations of tartar which are at first soft and easily removable by a brush.

Kind of Brush

A brush should be used with bristles that are stiff and of different lengths, so that the innermost crevices of the teeth may be reached. If the gums are sensitive, a moderately stiff brush can be used until the gums can bear the more vigorous treatment.

Tongue Brushing

The tongue should also be carefully cleansed with the tooth-brush. By taking care not to hit the roof of the mouth, gagging is avoided.

Tooth-Powders and -Pastes

Tooth-powders and -pastes may be used, but should not be the main reliance. Perhaps once a day for their use is often enough. Some powders, if used too freely, are liable to unduly thin the enamel of the teeth.

Dental Floss

The use of dental floss silk between the teeth, provided care is taken not to press it against the gums, is also helpful.

Emetin

A number of investigators have reported the presence of an animal parasite, the endameba buccalis, in all cases of pyorrhea, and it is thought that this parasite may be one of the principal causes of this disease. Emetin, the active principle of ipecac, which has been successfully used in amebic dysentery, is now employed in the treatment of this trouble. Such a remedy should only be used in connection with thorough surgical treatment and dental prophylaxis. It is claimed that in the early stages of pyorrhea a mouth-wash composed of two drops of fluid extract of ipecac to a half-glass of water is very serviceable, and as at that stage a mouth-wash is entirely harmless, it should be tried, especially as it is now claimed that some degree of pyorrhea or of endamebic infection is almost universally present.

Alkaline Dentifrice
Food Acids

For an alkaline dentifrice, there is nothing better than lime-water, made from coarse, unslaked lime. Alkaline washes are very superficial in their action, however, while fruit acids curdle and thus render removable the mucin plaques and prevent the formation of tartar. They also cleanse the tongue and membranes of the mouth generally, which may be important sources of infection. These acids are found in grape-juice, orange-juice, apples, and vinegar. Such mechanical cleansing is particularly important before retiring, as it is usually during the night that the most damage is wrought.

Erosion

The advice of the dentist should be sought as to the condition of the teeth, especially as to whether there is any erosion or destruction of enamel, before using either acid or alkaline washes exclusively.

Periodic Examination

Periodic examinations and cleanings by the dentist are the only safe measures. If the dentist has facilities for giving preventive

treatment by specially cleaning the teeth, he should be visited every other month. If such a program is adopted, it will generally be found unnecessary to visit him for any other purpose.

Saving Teeth

Some dentists and physicians have until lately given too much attention to the saving of teeth, without fully realizing the dangers of infection from the mechanical devices employed. The teeth should not be extracted on mere suspicion and without proper effort to save them, but it is far more important to save a heart or a kidney or a set of joints than it is to save a tooth. This is not to say that all bridge- and crown-work is improper, but that such work should only be of a character that will permit of surgical cleanliness in the mouth, and that such teeth should always be examined by the X-Ray, when there is evidence of systemic disease in order to be sure that the roots and sockets are not infected.

Irregularities of Teeth

In early life the jaws should be carefully examined by both dentist and doctor in order to determine whether or not the proper development is taking place. If upper and lower teeth fail to fit well together, extra strain is placed upon certain teeth and the sockets are liable to injury and infection. Faulty development can often be corrected and deformities that interfere with proper mastication and place a strain on certain teeth can thus be avoided.

The Temporary Teeth

The temporary teeth should not be allowed to be removed by decay. Thorough dental and home care should prevent this. If cavities form, they should be filled under proper precautions and the teeth should be saved until the last minute, unless they are causing infection.

Teeth and Infectious Diseases

Amazingly good results from teeth-hygiene have been shown in a Boston asylum, which cares for over 300 children. Before the introduction of a dental clinic into this asylum, infectious diseases - diphtheria, mumps, scarlet fever, pneumonia, measles, whooping cough, tonsillitis, chicken-pox, croup, etc. - had been occurring for four years at the rate of over 80 cases per year, but for three years after the dental clinic was established the average was only 3 per year.

Copyright 1915 by Funk & Wagnalls Company
New York and London, 1916