VI 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE— LOCAL 



A Local Department 



Talks on Teeth. 



BY DR. D. KATZ, STAMFORD, CONNE^CTICUT. 



The care of the teeth should begin in 

 infancy, almost at the beginning of 

 their eruption. It is often found nec- 

 essary to begin even earlier by lancing 

 the gums to relieve the pains of erup- 

 tion. 



The baby's mouth should be washed 

 w^ith a mild antiseptic (clean cloth 

 wound around the forefinger and dip- 

 ped into a solution made with a tea- 

 spoonful of boracic acid to a glass of 

 water) after every feeding or nursing. 

 As soon as teeth begin to erupt, the 

 application of a soft toothbrush wet 

 with this solution is advisable. 



In children of perfect physique the 

 process of changing teeth is usually 

 well managed by Nature, but abnormal 

 or weak children, as well as children of 

 extraordinary physique, usually require 

 the care of a dentist during the period 

 of changing. It is essential therefore 

 for mothers to know the exact time of 

 eruption of both temporary and per- 

 manent teeth. The table given below 

 should be conspicuously pasted in 

 every mother's book. 



Eruption of the Teeth. The temporary 

 teetli begin to appear through the gum 

 at the 7th month after birth, the lower 

 central incisors appearing first. Their 

 eruption ends with the appearance of 

 the second molars, about the age of two 

 years. The lower teeth slightly ante- 

 date the upper. Their formula is as 

 follows : — 



Mo.Mo.Ca. In. In. In. In.Ca.lIo.Mo. 



[Upper 1111111111 =10 



[Lower 1111111111 =10 



241218 9 7 7 9 18 12 24 months 

 Of the permanent teeth, the first 

 molars appear about the end of the 6th 

 year, followed by the incisors about the 

 7th or 8th year, the bicuspids from the 

 9th to the loth year, the canines about 

 the nth or 12th year, the second molars 

 from the 12th to the 13th year, and the 

 third molars from the 17th to the 21st 

 year . Those of the lower jaw are 

 slightly in advance of the correspond- 

 ing upper ones. This formula is as 

 follows : — 



Wi«.Mo.Mo,Bi. Bi. Ca. In. In, In. 



( Upper .... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 



\ 



[Lower.... 111111111 

 1912 610 911 8 7 .7 



In. Ca. Bi. Bi. Mo. Mo. Wis. 



Upper .... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 = 16 



\ 1=32. 



[Lower .... 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 = 16 ^ 

 811 910 6 12 19 years 



The greatest number of teeth at one 

 time in the jaws is 48, — including all 

 the temporary and permanent teeth ex- 

 cept the third molars, if none have been 

 lost. This occurs between the 5th and 

 7th years of age. 



In my next article I will endeavor to 

 show the evils that come through lack 

 of a little superficial knowledge of den- 

 tistry, knowledge which every mother 

 should possess. 



Children should be taught not to fear 

 the dentist. Visits to the dentist should 

 be made at frequent intervals so as to 

 avoid long and painful operations in the 

 future. By following these methods I 

 have personally gained the confidence 

 and friendship of hundreds of children 

 who look back in pleasure and not in 

 fear to the times spent in my dental 

 chair. 



Roses by the Cellar of an Old Home- 

 stead. 



I gathered a few of the roses for a 

 boutonniere and stood a few minutes in 

 silent contemplation. 



My mind harked back to the early 

 years of the last century, when, in all 

 probability, some young farmer brought 

 to this home a buxom bride. Together 

 they planted these roses by their cottage 

 door. The roses in their young faces 

 faded as the years came and went, but 

 still the roses by the door-stone bloomed 

 fresh as ever. In time the roses of their 

 household, the grown-up girls and boys, 

 were transplanted to other soil, after 

 manner of men ; but still the roses bloom- 

 ed by the door. One day they came back 

 and bore the aged father to his last rest- 

 ing place and strewed some of these very 

 roses upon his grave Later the form of 

 the widowed mother was laid beside the 

 lover of her youth and the companion of 

 her old age ; and the sorrowing children 



