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43
The common causes are :—
1. Too early extraction of temporary teeth due to decay,
the decay itself being due to insufficient care of the child's
teeth at an early age, or to injudicious diet.
2. A badly chosen diet insufficient in vitamins and mostly
of a soft nature, a condition which does not give exercise
to the jaw bones by not demanding vigorous chewing.
3. Mouth breathing, due to nasal obstruction or habit. One
is tempted to say that in such cases not only is there a
retarded oral development but also a retarded mental
development.
4. Finger and thumb sucking, and that most pernicious of
unsanitary childish habits—dummy sucking.
It is to be noted that malformation of the jaws and misplacement
of the teeth are more noticeable among children of comfortably
placed parents, especially when there is an only child, than among
children of large families in less fortunate social surroundings.
Usually the single child is somewhat spoiled in the matter of desires
and objections. The diet of the child is considered more for its
tastiness than for its utility, and the habit of eating some sweet
delicacy between meals is encouraged. Retarded development
usually results. The poorer and more numerous family eat what
they can get, when they can get it, usually hard tack, and development
is more primitive, less refined and more strongly aggressive.
The prevention of dental disease is simple. Natural foods,
correctly cooked where necessary, and well chewed, and cleanly
teeth at night before bed. If sweets are given at all, the old-fashioned
barley sugar is best, but preferably children should be encouraged
to eat .sound fruit and plenty of it.
The ideal scheme of Dental treatment in Barking should permit
the examination of each school child at least once a year, and the
complete establishment of sound mouths by dental surgery of all
those cases needing treatment. Regrettably this, has not been