PAPERS OX MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 471 



iug the removal of ALL TEETH as soon as they are 

 erupted, thereby making an ''100% Edentulous Society" 

 and thus avoid all the diseases caused by teeth abscesses. 



My answer to the pamphlet has been formulated by 

 William CowjDer Brann. "Assail a fool with reason and 

 he answers you with calumny". 



Deriding modem scientific procedure is not going to 

 cause it to retreat within its shell for a hundred years. 

 A couple of thousand years ago, it was great sport to 

 feed Christians to lions, to make a holiday in Eome; but 

 it did not kill out the Christian religion in Eome. It 

 made it a poor hazard so far as life insurance was con- 

 cerned, but it was nowise worse than the troubles result- 

 ing from focal infections of today. Roosevelt gave his 

 life (unintentionally) rather than the offending tooth. 

 It is just possible that had ex-Kaiser William lost his 

 teeth early in the game, he might not have been so anxi- 

 ous for a bite at Belgium. But we are digressing — we 

 are upon the subject of focal infections with especial ref- 

 erence to the teeth. I cannot tell you how to stop those 

 which have already occurred save by extraction of the 

 offending tooth, but to prevent apical abscesses it were 

 well to 



1. Have your teeth examined by a competent dentist 

 at least once a year. 



2. Time is proving that artificial dentures are safer 

 and more sanitary than bridges and crowns. 



3. A tooth that aches or has ached is safest when re- 

 moved from your mouth. 



4. Be suspicious of any dental work that necessitates 

 the devitalization of a tooth (killing the nei've). 



The real answer to the matter lies in the mouths of 

 the school child of grammar school age. In Boston they 

 have been doing heroic work among the school children, 

 and results are astounding. The adult mouth cannot be 

 reformed. Those teeth you have already had restored 

 are a menace to your health. Were they mine, they 

 would be OUT. 



Difference of opinion made horse racing possible, and 

 Tour ideas concerning teeth mav be different from mine. 



