ERUPTION OF THE TEETH. 477 



Physical perfection cannot be attained without perfect health ; health 

 can be had only by perfect digestion ; perfect digestion only by perfect 

 masticatioD, and perfect mastication only by perfect teeth. 



In this age of scientific development there is no reasonable excuse for 

 children growing up with poor teeth. It is outrageous. Cleanliness is the 

 great preventive, and, considering the American mode of living, no child 

 should pass its fourth year without being taught that it is as essential to 

 brush the teeth as to be washed and combed. The deciduous (first) teeth are 

 as liable to decay as are the permanent set, and the premature loss of the 

 first is vitally detrimental to the permanent. 



Every mother should be familiar with the following schedule of periods 

 of dentition. 



DECIDUOUS TEETH. 



Central incisors 5 to 8 months. 



Lateral " 7 to 10 " 



First molars 12 to 16 " 



Canines 15 to 20 " 



Second molars 20 to 36 " 



PERMANENT TEETH. 



First molars 5 to 6 years. 



Central incisors 6 to 8 " 



Lateral " .. 7 to 9 " 



First bicuspids , 9 to 10 " 



Second " 10 to 11 " 



Canines (eye teeth) 11 to 12 " 



Second molars 12 to 14 '• 



Third " 17 to 21 " 



The lower teeth generally precede the upper by two or three months. 



If the eruption and articulation are irregular, apply to a careful and 

 reliable dentist for advice. 



The upper and lower teeth correspond in number, character and general 

 form, there being two of each name in either jaw, rights and lefts. 



The teeth stand in rotation, and signify as follows: Incisors, for cutting; 

 Canines, for tearing, like the tusks of a dog ; Bicuspids, for tearing and 

 grinding ; Molars, for grinding, as a mill. 



Grinding the food does not constitute mastication. The act of chewint>- 

 superinduces and increases the flo\Y of saliva, without which proper degluti- 

 tion and digestion are impossible. 



Persons generally suppose the First Molars of the permanent set to be 

 inciduous. Don't forget that they are permanent, and, as it were, the cor.. 

 nor-stones of the mouth and face, and should never be allowed to require 

 extracting. In every eighty cases in every one hundred these First Molars 

 are decaj^ed in the interstices before the child passes its eighth year, and if 

 not filled while the cavity is small, the cavities quickly reach the pulp (nerve) 

 and produce the most intense suffering, and if extracted, butchery and mal- 

 formation. Parents who neglect their children's teeth deserve uncomprom- 

 isinsr censure. 



