When we stop to consider that every bit of nourishment the child gets 

 must pass through the mouth, we can easily see how very materially the 

 whole digestive apparatus must be affected when the food is contaminated 

 by the filth which is found in a great many mouths. 



Then again, the primary function of the teeth is lost when uncared for 

 and allowed to decay till the child cannot masticate its food without pain. 

 From infancy onward the child is expected to double its weight a number 

 of times before it reaches maturity. From the kindergarten days on 

 through the public and high schools the mental capacity of the child is 

 expected to develop at a marvelous rate, when we consider how young the 

 average student is today when entering the university. Now, how are we 

 to expect all these good results when the one source of nutrition is impaired 

 by the first of the digestive organs not being in shape to do their work 

 properly? 



Nature has provided twenty temporary, or baby teeth, to be used from 

 the time they begin to erupt, at the age of six months, till they are all re- 

 placed by the larger permanent teeth about the age of twelve yars. Very 

 often these teeth are allowed to go just because they are temporary, and 

 will be replaced later on. A greater mistake was never made. If the 

 temporary teeth are lost too soon, not only does the child lose that much 

 masticating surface, but the permanent teeth will come too soon, and 

 therefore improperly developed, and are almost sure to be irregular. The 

 all too prevalent idea that the baby teeth stay in too long at times, and 

 thus cause the permanent teeth to be irregular, is wrong. 



In ninety per cent, of cases, irregularity of the permanent teeth is due 

 to a premature extraction of some of the temporary teeth. But, you will 

 ask, how are we to save these temporary teeth; they decay so fast; and, can 

 teeth be filled for children so small? Yes, the baby teeth can be filled, and 

 filled quite satisfactorily and easily if taken at the right time. They should 

 be watched very carefully, and examined by a dentist every few months, 

 and in this way a cavity is caught while it is yet small. So much for the 

 baby teeth. 



At the age of six years there come four permanent molars; they are the 

 first permanent, or sometimes called six year molars, and are placed just 

 back of the temporary teeth. These are often mistaken for baby teeth 

 because no baby teeth have been lost to make room for them, but they are 

 second teeth, and in fact the most important ones in the permanent set, 

 because around them all the others come, and if these molars are not in 

 place, the others grow into all sorts of irregular positions. 



The actual cleaning of the teeth should begin as soon as the baby teeth 

 commence to erupt. Later on the child should be taught to clean its own 

 teeth, and then all that is necessary is to see that he or she does it properly. 



The teeth of email children should be cleaned with a small brush and 

 plenty of lukewarm water. Later on a powder may be used. They should 

 be brushed after each meal and before bed time. 



"Train up a child in the way he shoult go and when he is old he will 

 not depart from it." Proverbs xxii. 6. 



"The grinders cease because they are few." Proverbs xii. 3. 



