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49
much harm result to the system by swallowing the decaying
matter from teeth, but through the cavities thus exposed,
it is possible that harmful disease germs may gain entrance
to the blood.
The importance of treating the first teeth of children
cannot be over-estimated. If the permanent teeth are
erupted into a mouth in which are already many carious
teeth it is extremely likely that the caries will spread to the
permanent ones as they come through the gums. The first
permanent teeth require to be Avatched, and should be
stopped as soon as the first signs of decay show themselves.
In advocating the establishment of a School Clinic I am
recommending: that treatment should be started with the
children between 5 and 7 years of age, so that preventive
work may be begun in time. It would be manifestly
impossible to treat all the children with carious teeth in our
schools, and many of them would be found to have too many
unsavable teeth to make any conservative treatment possible.
Of course, older children than the group I suggest for
treatment would have badly carious unsavable teeth extracted
whenever necessary.
I cannot impress too strongly upon the Teachers the
importance of inculcating the habit of regular teeth cleaning
among their scholars. When food is allowed to cling round the
teeth, fermentation ensues, and the decay germs have their
best opportunity for making their deadly onslaughts on the
tooth's integrity. Teeth should be cleaned at least once a day,
and the most important time is before going to bed, so that
the food may not remain undisturbed in contact with them
during the long hours of night.