American Agriculturist, May 31, 1924 
Care of Your Teeth Means Better Health 
Avert Tooth Troubles bp Habits of Cleanliness and Proper Diet 
I T is a part of the Hindu religion to brush 
the teeth twice a day. They use a 
twig from a certain tree that has an astrin¬ 
gent sap, and moisten it with water. 
Travelers in the East often comment on 
the glistening white teeth of the orthodox 
Hindu. 
Americans may not make it a religious 
matter, but the last few years have seen 
enormous progress in the care of the teeth 
and the understanding of how important 
such care is. 
Even so, there is still much actual neg¬ 
lect and much ignorance of the proper 
way to avoid tooth troubles and the other 
ills which they bring in their train. For it 
is now an established fact that many 
complaints which have apparently no re¬ 
lation to mouth hygiene are directly 
caused by bad teeth. 
. One of the famous specialists has said 
that in order to insure perfect teeth in a 
baby it is necessary to begin with the 
grandmother. This is just a striking way 
of saying that the influences before a 
baby’s birth do much to determine 
whether it will have good teeth or bad. 
The old wives’ saying “have a baby and 
lose a tooth” shows that on the other 
hand the mother’s teeth are also affected 
by the birth of a'child. 
From the time a baby is born, long be¬ 
fore the first teeth appear, the little mouth 
should be kept clean and sweet. M ash 
it out after each feeding with cotton 
swabs dipped in a solution of boric acid. 
Remember that the condition of the gums 
influences the usually painful process of 
“teething.” 
For a tiny baby, soft food is, of course, 
imperative, but for the child from two to 
six years of age, do not serve too much 
mashed or pulped foods. Hard crusts and 
zwieback help the teeth to form strongly. 
Food containing mineral salts, which go 
into the actual composition of the teeth, 
must be included in the diet. 
should at once investigate. Often after a 
filling is put in, the habit continues. This 
should be corrected, as it is necessary to 
develop a strong, even set of teeth, both 
to keep the natural shape of the mouth 
and to assure regular chewing surfaces. 
A Filling in Time 
Irregular teeth are hard to clean and 
decay more quickly. By avoiding uneven 
development, many trips to the dentist’s 
chair can be eliminated. In taking chil¬ 
dren to the dentist, many parents urge 
them to “be brave,” “not to cry,” or 
otherwise alarm them over the ordeal that 
awaits them. If children’s teeth are fre¬ 
quently examined, cleaned and, when 
necessary, given small fillings, there will 
be very little pain. The thing to do, 
therefore, is to emphasize the fact that it 
keeps the teeth pretty and helps the child 
grow strong. In other words, dwell on the 
cheerful side and then apply the ounce 
of prevention! 
Remember that aside from the bad 
tient’s teeth, as a clean mouth helps keep 
the system normal and makes the patient 
feel infinitely fresher and cleaner. Swab 
it out in cases of severe illness. 
No article on teeth would entirely cover 
the subject unless it gave a warning con¬ 
cerning their care during pregnancy. For 
the sake of both the mother and the child, 
especial care should then be taken of the 
mother’s teeth. 
Orientals have a saying, “Give your 
friend a whole peach; peel it for your 
enemy.” Without the exact scientific 
knowledge we have to-day, older genera¬ 
tions realized there was value in the un¬ 
peeled fruits which just the pulp did not 
contain. We know that valuable mineral 
salts lie between skin and pulp. Potato 
skins also contain important minerals. 
Unpeeled fruits, plenty of orange juice, 
fresh vegetables, especially tomatoes, 
spinach and cabbage, all should be liber¬ 
ally included in the diet of the expectant 
mother. The calcification of the baby’s 
teeth starts five months before birth and 
Toothbrush Soldiers: These funny little papier mache figures, representing the differ¬ 
ent types of teeth, encourage New York school children to regular mouth care. 
(Photo courtesy A. I. C. P., N. Y. C.) 
“Chew Before You Swallow” 
A child may be taught before he is well 
out of babyhood to take small mouthfuls, 
masticate well and swallow before taking 
more into the mouth. The regular use of 
the toothbrush, beginning with a small 
soft brush just as soon as the first teeth 
begin to appear, is also necessary if later 
troubles are to be avoided. Never give a 
baby a pacifier, as it will mold the tiny 
jaws out of shape and mean trouble later. 
Thumb-sucking makes the upper teeth 
protrude and leads to mouth-breathing 
and an unattractive appearance. 
Never say or believe that “the first 
teeth don’t matter.” If they are unclean 
and decaying the child is far more sus¬ 
ceptible to disease of all sorts, and the 
general health is apt to be below par even 
if the child is not actually ill. Then, too, 
it is most important for the sake of the 
permanent teeth that the first set be well 
cared for. If the early teeth are lost pre¬ 
maturely, the second come out unevenly. 
Before all the early teeth are lost, the 
first permanent molars come through far 
back in the mouth. Watch for these and. 
be sure that from then on the new set 
have every chance to come out evenly 
and strongly. 
It is pretty well understood that too 
much free sugar is extremely bad for the 
teeth. Children do not crave sweets if 
they have not been brought up to have 
them, and the habit of nibbling candy or 
other sweets between meals not only dis¬ 
organizes a child’s appetite and thus pulls 
down the general health, but actually 
harms the teeth and, if the enamel is 
broken, starts centers of decay. Refined 
sugar attracts the lime salts necessary to 
form the bony structure, thus withdraw¬ 
ing the very substance needed to build 
strong healthy teeth. All the sugar neces¬ 
sary to health is obtainable in fruits, raw 
or "stewed, and similar naturally sweet 
foodstuffs. 
If the child begins to chew the food 
entirely on one side, there is apt to be 
tenderness on the other, and a dentist 
appearance and discomfort of decaying 
teeth, the draining of pus often causes 
infection of the throat passages or inflam¬ 
mation of ear and sinus passages under 
the eyes. Digestive disorders come from 
the swallowing of poisonous discharges, 
while rheumatism frequently is traced to 
bad tooth conditions and disappears when 
they are remedied. 
Beside the care we can give our teeth 
by choosing the right diet—such as cheese, 
buttermilk, uncooked fruit and green 
vegetables with their tooth-preserving ele¬ 
ments—we can do much to keep them in 
good condition by the right home care. 
Three separate steps are involved in the 
proper care—the use of the toothbrush, 
dental floss and a mouth rinse. Have a 
trash of reasonable hardness, keep it 
clean and well aired and change it often. 
Use a good powder or cream, one which 
contains no harmful grit, but really cleans 
the surfaces. 
Brush with light, rapid strokes, first the 
outside surfaces, and the gums of both 
jaws, then the inside surfaces and gums, 
then the roof of the mouth and chewing 
surfaces. Do not use a crosswise, back 
and forth motion, but brush round and 
round, circular fashion. Use the tooth¬ 
brush at least two minutes each time. 
Then clean between the teeth with den¬ 
tal floss. 
Lime Water is Cheap 
The final step is to wash the mouth out 
thoroughly and for this nothing is so good 
as lime water. Crush into powder 5 cents 
worth of unslakea lime and put K cup 
lime in a quart bottle, nearly full of water. 
Let it settle and after several hours pour 
off the water. Fill the bottle again and 
drain the clear water into a small handy 
bottle. Refill over the lime and use as 
needed. 
Lime water should be forced between 
the teeth till it foams. If it is too strong 
dilute it, but as the gums grow hard and 
healthy, gradually go back to the full 
strength. 
During illness, never neglect the pa¬ 
in that time the lime and similar elements, 
of fruits, vegetables, milk and eggs are 
needed for two. Free sugar, on the other 
hand, attracts the lime and causes faulty 
formation of the baby’s teeth as well as 
decay of the mother’s. She should, there¬ 
fore, eat little refined sugar, getting the 
necessary supply in other ways. Raisins, 
nuts and dried fruits are all good “ex¬ 
tras” with the regular diet. 
When the baby is born, the mother’s 
milk contains all the necessary ingredients 
in perfect proportion. Modified foods are 
often deficient in certain elements, and a 
physician’s advice is necessary to supply 
the missing factors by other means. 
Orange juice, tomato juice—both rich in 
vitamin C, the anti-scorbutic vitamin— 
are imperative when boiled or prepared 
cow’s milk is used. Then as the baby 
grows older, he can chew on hard crusts to 
strengthen the gums and help the first 
teeth, already well formed in the gum, to 
come through. 
Eternal vigilance is certainly the price 
of healthy teeth, but the teaching of 
sound habits of cleanliness and diet should 
avert from our children many of the ills 
our own generation has suffered. 
Reference: 
ance 
Do You Know That: 
You can remove coffee-stains by wetting 
the spots with pure glycerine, then rinse 
out in lukewarm water. 
* * * 
If you make a pad for your sewing- 
machine tread, it will seem to run as 
easy again—a great relief to you. 
* * * 
If you grease the under side of the 
cream pitcher spout with, butter, the 
milk will not run down it when pouring.— 
Mrs. Ida A. Brown. 
* * * 
When the children know about the 
family income they’re not so sure they 
have to have so many new things, if it 
means that mother must wear her four- 
year-old hat. Just take them in your 
confidence and tell them all abdut it 
and let them help plan the finances too.— 
Ida A. Brown. 
* * * 
In a kitchen window where the sun 
comes in is a good place to start some 
tomato and cabbage seed in shallow boxes. 
Now’s the time to start.—J. Carney. 
* * * 
Camphor-gum will drive away mice. 
Scatter it on shelves and in drawers and 
no more trouble will be experienced. 
Also use effectively for moths.—J. Car¬ 
ney. 
One to Jail and One Acquitted 
N ATHAN D. HECHT, founder of the 
Standard Food and Fur Associa¬ 
tion, was sentenced on May 22 to serve 
one year and a day in the Federal Prison 
at Atlanta. 
James Varvaro, to whom Hecht sold 
the business some time ago and whose 
defense consisted of the claim that he was 
ignorant of the deceit Hecht had practiced 
upon buyers, was acquitted by the jury. 
His co-defendants were set free by the 
Judge due to insufficient evidence to 
connect them with the scheme. The 
verdict of the jury was brought in in 
spite of a severe arraignment of Varvaro 
by Judge Luse of Wisconsin, before 
whom the case was tried. The Judge 
spoke scathingly of the business methods 
of the firm and warned Varvaro to “watch 
his step” in any business venture he 
might undertake. Of course, this ac¬ 
quittal of Varvaro was a disappointment 
both to the District Attorney’s office, 
which tried the case, and to the American 
Agriculturist and other publications 
which were anxious to gain a decisive 
victory. 
However, according to Assistant Dis¬ 
trict Attorney D. J. Gillette, who prose¬ 
cuted the case, much has been gained by 
the trial and its outcome. The Standard 
Food and Fur Association and the Big 
Four Syndicate, which was also the same 
business, no longer exist—the result of 
the campaign was to send the firm into 
bankruptcy and from the testimony of 
several witnesses, the defendants could 
save nothing from the wreck. Further¬ 
more, in addition to Hecht’s sentence, the 
Varvaro brothers and their associate, 
Lumia, have been completely discredited 
and, according to Mr. Gillette, will find 
it difficult to reestablish themselves in 
business of any sort again. 
The A. A. Furnished Evidence 
In commenting on the case in general 
as well as on the verdict, Assistant Dis¬ 
trict Attorney Gillette said: “Had it 
not been for the American Agricul¬ 
turist this case would probably never 
have been brought to trial. It was 
necessary to prove the use of the mails to 
(1 fraud and the cooperation of the 
magazine was invaluable in securing this 
evidence. We have not only had the 
assistance of the publisher, who turned 
over to us all the files of the American 
Agriculturist Service Bureau, but we 
have also had the skilled cooperation of 
the magazine’s attorney. The Post Office 
Inspector, whose duty it was to collect 
all possible evidence of this sort, was 
therefore able to bring in a great mass of 
correspondence which, of course, in¬ 
cluded a variety of different types of 
complaints. Inasmuch as the Post Office 
Department has a great many cases of 
this type to handle it naturally prosecutes 
the ones which seem the most important. 
Thus, the American Agriculturist 
helped to start the ball rolling and the 
conviction of Hecht and the wide pub¬ 
licity given the case should completely 
stamp out the buy-back rabbit scheme 
through which so many farmers have 
been victimized.” 
