DOMESTIC ECONOMY, HYGIENE, DIETETICS. 



421 



lii practice. How often it is that teeth that 

 have been recently filled will exhibit upon their 

 surfaces more or less of foreign matter, usually 

 salivary calculus ! This is sometimes removed 

 from the exposed surfaces, while it is permitted 

 to remain in considerable quantities beneath 

 the margin of the gums. 



When the care of a set of teeth and the 

 mouth is committed to the dentist, the first 

 step, so far as treatment and manipulation is 

 concerned, is to render all the teeth thoroughly 

 clean, removing every particle of foreign mat- 

 ter, and polishing the surfaces as perfectly as 

 possible ; giving particular attention to all 

 rough and abraded places. The gums should 

 be rendered healthy and freed from all irritants. 

 In proper and systematic treatment this should 

 precede the operation of filling. Still, in some 

 cases, it will be necessary that all go on to- 

 gether, but the rule should be that thorough 

 cleansing precede the operation of filling. 



Cleaning the teeth and making the mouth 

 healthy is as important as, and, indeed, more 

 so in some respects, than the operation of filling 

 decayed teeth. 



If the profession could feel the full impor- 

 tance of this, better success would attend the 

 operation of filling. 



He who neglects the condition of the mouth 

 in respect to health and purity, and simply 

 fills teeth, irrespective of these conditions, 

 does both himself and patient great injustice. 

 Such operations, however well performed, are 

 far less efficient than they would be if the 

 mouth were kept clean and free from disease. 

 Nor is it enough that the mouth be made 

 healthy and pure, but it must be kept so, if 

 the work of the dentist is to be of permanent 

 service. And in order that this good condi- 

 tion of the mouth be maintained the patient 

 should have a clear understanding of its im- 

 sportance, and of the means by which it is ac- 

 complished, and be made to feel that it is 

 mainly dependent upon himself. It is the 

 'duty of the dentist, not only to fully impress 

 this fact upon the mind of his patient, but also 

 to give him all needed information as to the 

 means to be used. 



In order that the mouth be kept in proper 

 condition, it should be examined thoroughly 

 once in from four to twelve months ; with 

 some as often as every four months ; with others 

 once in twelve months will suffice. The dentist 

 who has the best interest of his patients at 

 heart, and a just appreciation of his own repu- 

 tation, cannot afford to dismiss them indefi- 

 nitely, or until the patient finds something 

 breaking down, or is admonished by the pain 

 of some active disease. 



It is very often that quite faulty filling in 



mouths kept healthy and clean seem entirely 

 to arrest decay of the teeth in which they are ; 

 while in mouths that are neglected, impure, 

 and diseased, the most perfect fillings utterly 

 fail to save the teeth for any considerable time. 



Were dentists as careful in this matter as 

 they ought to be, there would be far less of 

 failure in operating upon the natural teeth than 

 is at present realized ; and the appreciation of 

 the service of the dentist would be much 

 greater, and his reputation of a higher order 

 than at present, a result to be greatly desired. 



Toothpicks. At the temperature of the 

 mouth, only a few hours is sufficient to induce 

 a putrefactive change of particles of food left 

 between the teeth. They should be removed 

 with the quill or wooden toothpick, or with 

 floss silk. Silk is preferable, as it can be 

 passed between teeth that stand in .contact, and 

 effectually cleanses the surface that cannot be 

 reached by the pick or the brush. If this be 

 too expensive, linen threads, such as are used 

 by shoemakers, may be substituted. 



Toothbrushes should be used with great 

 thoroughness every night and morning, and, if 

 practicable, after every meal. Great care 

 should be taken, however, to select brushes 

 not too harsh and stiff, as they may do much 

 harm to the gums. On the other hand, if 

 brushes are too soft, the teeth will not be well 

 cleansed. 



Powders should always be used, as by 

 their help the sticky mucus is more thoroughly 

 removed and the surface kept smooth and pol- 

 ished. The chalk of which they are mostly 

 made, has also an affinity for the acids, thereby 

 protecting the teeth. Soap is very cleansing, 

 and may be always used to advantage. Most 

 of the powders before the public may be con- 

 sidered reliable. The chalk and orris, of 

 which they are chiefly made, are so cheap that 

 there is no inducement for adulteration. 



Washes for the teeth and gums may be 

 used, but care should be taken to avoid those 

 which are astringent. Such may be used to 

 advantage in case of diseased gums, but in a 

 state of health the teeth and gums need to be 

 cleansed, not medicated. 



BALDNESS. 



In an article recently contributed to the 

 Gesundheit a paper, as its name imports, de- 

 voted to sanitary subjects Professor Reclam, 

 a German Gelehrter, makes some timely and 

 useful observations on the subject of baldness. 

 After describing, in a vein of pleasantry, the 

 vast array of bare, polls which maybe seen any 

 evening in the pit of a theater or the body of 

 a lecture room, he discusses the causes of bald- 

 ness. He does not think, as is sometimes said, 



