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Why do some children walk sooner than others?
One might dismiss both these questions with the answer that it is
just one of these things.
There is no doubt, however, that quite a number of predisposing
factors govern the answer to the dental question.
Heredity certainly plays a considerable part in determining the aptitude
under which some children's teeth decay sooner than others. The
care, or otherwise, of the expectant mother has a great influence on the
structural make-up of the teeth of the unborn infant, the main factor
being in the amount of calcium intake of the expectant mother. The
process of hardening or calcification of the teeth takes place after the teeth
have been primarily formed, such process being a spasmodic process
rather than a continuous process, and should the calcium intake not be
sufficient during a period of calcification then the teeth will suffer accordingly.
Numerous childhood ailments are also liable to leave their mark
on the teeth, especially such ailments as rickets, the fevers or measles
should they occur during a calcification period. It should be added that
a diseased temporary tooth if left untreated may seriously affect an
unerupted permanent tooth in the same manner.
In spite of all these tendencies to affect the teeth of the child it is
right to say that the majority of children's teeth are perfectly normal when
they erupt and are ready for work. Once the normal teeth are exposed
in the oral cavity then can the slogan "Clean teeth do not decay" apply
and the onus of maintaining a healthy dentition falls on the child itself
and the parents.
The teeth should be cleaned at an early age and the sooner the child is
taught the use of the toothbrush the better it will be for the child's health.
A child may have bad teeth and apparently be quite healthy but illness
is likely to strike at any moment and at such time it is essential that the
patient should have the purest of nourishment and air uncontaminated
by the germs of decay which exist in a mouth of diseased teeth. The teeth
should be cleaned after every meal; this does not necessarily mean with
the toothbrush as quite a number of everyday items of food have an
excellent cleansing property. To mention but a few, they are most of the
raw fruits and such raw vegetables as carrots and turnips; most children
relish such eatables.
The most important time for cleaning the teeth with the toothbrush
is the LAST THING AT NIGHT. It is little more than useless for the
child to clean the teeth before going to bed and then for the child to be
given some snack such as bread and butter or biscuits which foodstuffs
remain on the surfaces of the teeth throughout the night when the mouth
is dry and not even the saliva is available to wash them clean. It is at such
times that the most damage is done, as the foodstuff remains unchecked
in the pits and crevices of the teeth and thus starts decay.
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