Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her ChildrenChavasse, Pye Henry
Science
Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children
Chavasse, Pye Henry
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene; Infants -- Health and hygiene
If the teeth be much decayed, and if, in consequence, the breath be
offensive, two ounces of finely-powdered charcoal well mixed with the
above ingredients will be found a valuable addition. Some persons
clean their teeth every morning with soap; if soap be used it ought to
be Castile soap; and if the teeth be not white and clean, Castile soap
is an excellent cleanser of the teeth, and may be used in lieu of the
tooth powder as before recommended.
There are few persons who brush their teeth properly. I will tell you
the right way. First of all procure a tooth brush of the best make,
and of rather hard bristles, to enable it to penetrate into all the
nooks and corners of the teeth; then, having put a small quantity of
warm water into your mouth, letting the principal of it escape into
the basin, dip your brush in warm water, and if you are about using
Castile soap, rub the brush on a cake of the soap, and then well brush
your teeth, first upwards and then downwards, then from side to
side--from right to left, and from left to right--then the backs of
the teeth, then apply the brush to the tops of the crowns of the teeth
both of the upper and of the lower jaw,--so that _every_ part of each
tooth, including the gums, may in turn be well cleansed and be well
brushed. Be not afraid of using the brush; a good brushing and
dressing will do the teeth and the gums an immensity of good; it will
make the breath sweet, and will preserve the teeth sound and
good. After using the brush the mouth must, of course, be well rinsed
out with warm water.
The finest get of teeth I ever saw m my life belonged to a middle-aged
gentleman; the teeth had neither spot nor blemish, they were like
beautiful pearls. He never had toothache in his life, and did not know
what toothache meant! He brushed his teeth, every morning, with soap
and water, in the manner I have previously recommended. I can only say
to you--go and do likewise!
Camphor ought never to be used as an ingredient of tooth-powder, it
makes the teeth brittle. Camphor certainly has the effect of making
the teeth, for a time, look very white; but it is an evanescent
beauty.
Tartar is apt to accumulate between and around the teeth; it is better
in such a case not to remove it by sealing instruments, but to adopt
the plan recommended by Dr Richardson, namely, to well brush the teeth
with pure vinegar and water.
PREVENTION OF DISEASE, ETC
359. _If a boy or a girl show great precocity of intellect, is any
organ likely to become affected_?
A greater quantity of arterial blood is sent to the brain of those who
are prematurely talented, and hence it becomes more than ordinarily
developed. Such advantages are not unmixed with danger; this same
arterial blood may exite and feed inflammation, and either
convulsions, or water on the brain, or insanity, or, at last, idiocy
may follow. How proud a mother is in having a precocious child! How
little is she aware that precocity is frequently an indication of
disease!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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