Brushing Your Teeth; There Is a 

 Right and a Wrong Way 



IF people as a whole were aware 

 of the importance that a tooth- 

 brush plays in the healthful happiness 

 of their entire body more attention 

 would be paid to this perfunctory daily 

 exercise. The soberness of this fact 

 is perhaps a trifle more evident when 

 it is mentioned that mouth infection is 

 now known to be the source of numer- 

 ous diseases that cause chronic sick- 

 ness and eventually death. Looking 

 upon the situation from the opposite 

 side, it is equally true that mouth and 



The teeth and gums shoiald be scrubbed 



with a circular motion five or six times 



in succession 



teeth cleansing is the chief means of 

 preventing these diseases, and in many 

 instances, curing them. 



A Philadelphia physician, who has 

 gone more deeply than usual into this 

 question, points out that mouth 

 washes are of no value in the presence 

 of bacterial masses, unless these are 

 removed once a day at least. In other 

 words, the mouth should be thorough- 

 ly scrubbed daily. 



This physician lays even more stress 



The tooth brush should be small and the 

 bristles short. The upper brush is similar 

 to those usually bought. The lower brush 

 is correct 



upon the correct use of the toothbrush. 

 He has calculated the antiseptic and 



The spaces between the teeth should first 

 be carefully cleaned with dental floss 



curative results brought about by the 

 the use of the toothbrush on a mathe- 

 matical basis. 



For example, the tooth brush being 

 usually two inches long, generally re- 

 duces the movement of the bristles to 

 a half inch, which is almost all taken 

 up by springing and pivoting, so that 

 the actual friction amounts to very 

 little, if anything. 



Therefore, considering that friction 

 is a highly desirable factor, the ideal 



It is most important that the circular 



brushing should extend as far back in 



the mouth as possible 



tooth brush is one not over one inch 

 and a quarter long with bristles not over 

 a quarter of an inch in length. Bristles 

 of this length will necessarily be stiff, 

 but if the gums are soft and inflamed, 

 a brisk rubbing is the best thing in 

 the world for them, and will, in the 

 course of a week or two, bring them 

 back to a state of health again. The 

 fact that the inflamed gums become 

 sorer than usual during the first few 

 days is an indication of self-poisoning, 

 or autoinoculation, a condition and a 

 result that should not exist in an 

 otherwise healthy person. 



236 



