--The mouth has a temperature of 98 degrees, warmer
than is ever experienced in the shade in the latitude of New England.
It is well known that if beef, for example, be exposed in the shade
during the warmest of our summer days, it will very soon decompose. If
we eat beef for dinner, the particles invariably find their way into
the spaces between the teeth. Now, if these particles of beef are
not removed, they will frequently remain till they are softened by
decomposition. In most mouths this process of decomposition is in
constant progress. Ought we to be surprised that the gums and teeth
against which these decomposing or putrefying masses lie should become
subjects of disease?
How shall our teeth be preserved? The answer is very simple--keep
them very clean. How shall they be kept clean? Answer--By a toothpick,
rinsing with water, and the daily use of a brush.
The toothpick should be a quill, not because the metalic picks injure
the enamel, but because the quill pick is so flexible it fits into all
the irregularities between the teeth. Always after using the toothpick
the mouth should be thoroughly rinsed. If warm water be not at hand,
cold may be used, although warm is much better. Closing the lips, with
a motion familiar to all, everything may be thoroughly rinsed from the
mouth.
Every morning (on rising), and every evening (on going to bed), the
tooth-brush should be used, and the teeth, both outside and inside,
thoroughly brushed.
Much has been said _pro_ and _con_.
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