A child is weaned about the tenth month, but milk should remain its staple food 

 for the next three years, and should play an important part in its diet until nine or 

 ten years old. For this reason, sugar should not be introduced too early to a child's 

 notice, or it loses its taste for milk, which contains sugar, it is true, but in another 

 form from that served at our tables or manufactured into candies. 



DO NOT BE AFRAID 



to give crisp bread, toast, or cracker to little folk so soon as they have cut four teeth 

 and can begin to train their jaws to chew. At first, after weaning, much of their 

 food must be soft (the lightly boiled yolk of an egg, potato mashed in gravy, pounded 

 fish or chicken, milk-puddings, etc.) ; therefore see to it that the necessary exercise 

 of jaw and teeth, the essential training in mastication, are provided by a systematic 

 supply of crisp breadstuffs. 



THE HEALTH OF THE MILK-TEETH 



is decided by the nutrition of the mother during the antenatal period ; the well-being 

 of the permanent teeth depends upon whether or not they are infected by the decay 

 of the first set of teeth, and upon the regular and sufficient exercise of the growing 



Chewing or Masticating Teeth Canine Incisors or 

 Tooth Cutting Teetli 



Wisdom Tooth 



comes at from 



18th to 25th 



year. 



Wisdom Tooth 



Incisors or 



Canine Cutting Teeth 

 Chewing or Masticating Teeth Tooth 

 8id View of Upper and Lower Permanent Teeth of Right Side : these 

 begin to appear at 6 years of age and are complete at 12, with the 

 exception of the Wisdom Teeth which appear at from 16 25 years 



FIG. 5. DIAGRAM OF TEETH OF CHILD. 

 (Reproduced from Dental Charts for School Use.) 



jaws. A decayed tooth must receive immediate attention from the dentist, otherwise 

 the remaining teeth are infected. Besides which, if one tooth of either set be lost, 

 two other teeth have their work hindered. Look at Fig. 5. The truth of this state- 

 ment is conclusively proved. 



TWO INVIOLABLE RULES 



must govern the care of children's teeth : 



(1.) Each meal after weaning must close either with a drink of water; the 

 chewing of a piece of crisp crust, or toast or cracker ; or a few teaspoon- 

 fuls of orange-juice. After the age of seven or eight a crisp apple or even 

 one or two nuts may replace the other forms of mouth-cleansers: 

 (2.) So soon as a child has two teeth side by side the mother must accustom it 

 to washing the teeth with warm water and a simple powder (not paste or 

 fluid) at bed-time, and preferably in the morning also. 



NOTE. Under no circumstances may a child be sent to bed with candy or sweet- 

 cake or biscuit after the washing of its mouth. 



While on the subject of a child's diet, it may be well 



TO DISCUSS FOUR POINTS 



which often present difficulties to mothers. I refer to the character and quantity of 

 a child's drinks; its distaste for fat; its strong desire for snacks between meals; 

 and the too prevalent tendency to constipation. 



15 



