PAPERS ON MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 241 



mation of the bone, in its early stage, has been mistaken for 

 cold, or growing pains in children's legs ; when, if it had 

 been attended to, many a heart lesion, like endo- or peri- 

 carditis, with arthritis, or so-called rheumatism, would have 

 been prevented and a child saved from being damaged for 

 life. 



A mouth full of dirty decaying teeth is a danger to all 

 organs near and far, whether tonsils, eyes, nose, or glands of 

 head and neck. Think of swallowing many germs with all 

 your food, pus in quantity, foul odors, etc. Few things are 

 worse than a bad breath, mouth or nose. No wonder the 

 stomach, liver and intestines object and by inactivity or 

 an overload, refuse to work. Then the fermentation and 

 decay begin to overwhelm the system and clog it up and 

 we soon get crossness or irritability and the mother says, 

 "I wonder what has got Jimmie today!" The lad feels 

 bad, has foul taste, feels thirsty, has fever and headache 

 and Nature steps in and tries, perhaps, to help by unloading 

 through vomiting or diarrhoea. The castor oil and such 

 remedies are only an aid if the sore, poor teeth with holes 

 in them are put in good shape, just as the farmer's 

 fence must be kept up, or he knows trouble will come. To 

 prevent is better than to cure. Cavities in teeth open up 

 the nerves or pulps, causing sensitiveness and pain. Then 

 come fear to eat, bolting of food and dread of dentists and 

 long and painful or tedious sittings. The use of drugs fol- 

 lows to kill or cure pulps, and so pulpless teeth and more 

 troubles may come. You all know what happens to dead 

 or dying trees. Teeth are the same, and great is the loss 

 later on ! New ones, not so good, are put in and though a 

 great help in looks and force, yet lack the value of good, 

 sound live teeth. Extractions and abscesses may precede, 

 and who does not dread and fear these! We must be 

 on guard and not lay all ills of mankind to the teeth, for we 

 know there is a great tendency today to be too radical. 

 Rheumatism is seldom if ever cured solely by extrac- 

 tion and erradication or destruction of the alveolar plates. 

 Foci of the bacteria are present all over the body and too 

 far to be reached entirely by the scalpel and chisel. 



Look to your body upkeep, your immunity or reserve forces. 

 As every farmer knows, the soil needs treatment and rotation 



