YOUR CHILDREN'S TEETH

[Music] have you ever noticed how few people have really good strong teeth and how many have decaying teeth like these good teeth don't just happen they are the result of constant care and attention your dentist will tell you that one of the most important things in building strong teeth is eating the right foods foods like raw fruits and vegetables which provide the vitamins and minerals necessary for growing teeth and plenty of milk because it is rich in calcium which builds strong bones and teeth eggs cheese and butter also because they contained the vitamins needed for good teeth when you were very young and your first teeth were just beginning to grow you could eat no hard bulky foods at all everything had to be chopped up for you because you did not have the proper teeth with which to chew but but the age of three you had enough teeth to tack almost anything that an adult could how the teeth grow let's see at about two and a half years all the baby teeth should be in position as a child grows so do his jaws and spaces appear between the front teeth beneath the baby teeth the permanent ones are being formed and at about six or seven years the four baby front teeth loosen and fall out making way for the permanent ones to come through at the same time almost unnoticed the first permanent molars are back teeth appear behind the baby molars these the baby molars are not replaced till some four or five years later so it is important to take special care of them for if they're lost too soon you'll not have enough teeth to chew food properly all this time the permanent teeth are being formed in the jaws at about eleven or twelve years the babyís teeth fall out and are replaced with the permanent ones and at about the same time the baby molars make way for the permanent premolar teeth almost unnoticed the second permanent molars appear at this age behind the first and lastly at 18 years or later come the wisdom teeth this is how they should have developed with care everyone could have attractive teeth but unfortunately some of us are careless here is a girl of 17 who has lost many of her back teeth her front ones are decaying and will have to come out soon unless they're cared for immediately she cannot chew her food properly and with the food she swallows the poisonous discharge from her bad teeth this makes her tired and listless these poisons from her bad teeth pass into the bloodstream and are carried to every part of the body causing poor health and often serious illness but of course even good teeth will decay if they're neglected suppose we see just how a tooth does decay a tooth has two parts the crown above the guns and the root below the crown is covered by a hard white substance called enamel beneath the enamel is a dentin next the pulp which is the sensitive living part of the tooth inside the pulp our nerves and blood vessels which are connected with the rest of the body through a small opening in the root of the tooth decay is caused by food sticking to the teeth especially in the spaces between them germs grow in the food particles and turn them into an acid which slowly eats into the enamel this process takes quite a long time and months before the hole or cavity is large enough to be noticed or cause a toothache a lot of damage has been done when the decay reaches a softer dentin it spreads much more quickly but it is only when it reaches the nerve that you get a severe toothache this often means the loss of the tooth decay is often caused by the kind of food we nowadays especially those foods that are sweet and sticky like bread and jam food particles cling to the teeth after swallowing and even the movement of the tongue and cheeks can't shift them since it is this food sticking to the teeth that causes decay each crumb must be got rid of as soon as possible fruit or raw vegetables will do this better than anything else these are the cleansing foods and everyone should eat them after each meal but they won't do you a bit of good if you eat sticky foods again in between meals brushing the teeth and gums regularly is very important clean the morning and night and after meals whenever it is possible the most important time of all is last thing at night now a few points on how to clean the teeth properly use a short medium hard brush these bristles will get in between the teeth very well without hurting the gums use any toothpaste or powder your dentist or you can buy very cheaply from your druggist and mixture a precipitated chalk and sodium bicarbonate with some flavoring added to give it a pleasant taste this will do the job just as well there are more ways than one of using a toothbrush brushing across the teeth like this is no good at all you can't get in between them properly if you wanted to clean in between your fingers you wouldn't brush across them you'd brush up and down like this cleaning in between thoroughly if you find that brushing up and down is a little difficult you can use this round and round movement it is much easier and gets in between the teeth just as well keep the teeth together all the time especially when you do the back ones in this way the cheeks are relaxed and there is plenty of room for the brush and you can do the upper and lower ones at the same time use the same movement on the inside surfaces don't forget the front teeth especially the lower ones and of course the crowns of the teeth keeping the teeth clean is very important if you want a snack before going to bed at night eat something cleansing like a piece of apple or a tomato or even a bit of carrot and then of course brush the teeth thoroughly last thing before going to bed in spite of all this care small cavities will occur in your teeth from time to time so you should visit your dentist regularly for a checkup often the cavity is too small to cause pain and cannot be seen or felt until it has grown much larger but the dentist will find it and he can take care of it much more easily than this large hole which has been so neglected that the tooth may have to come out don't wait until your teeth get that bad before going to the dentist very six months or so for an examination that's the best way to keep your teeth in good shape you can have good teeth if you take care of them just remember that good teeth mean good health and good looks [Music] [Applause] [Music]