Volume 2

Health lectures for the people.

Date:
1883-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health lectures for the people. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    177/600 (page 165)
    In its structure, a tooth consists of three substances. The bulk of it is composed of dentine or ivory, consisting of numerous fine tubes. The crown is covered with a layer of hard substance called enamel^ and the roots are coated with a third substance called cement Internally, the tooth is hollow and contains a pulp. This pulp, rich in blood- vessels and nerves, really represents the papilla on which the tooth was formed. It is when this pulp is exposed, through the tooth decaying, that the pangs of toothache are in- duced. Sixteen teeth exist in each jaw of man, the arrangement in each jaw being similar. There are thus four incisors, or front teeth ; two canines, or eye teeth; two bicuspids, or pre-molars ; and six molars in each jaw. The last or hindmost molar is called the wisdom tooth, from the fact that it appears some- what late in life; but I possess the acquaintance of several in- dividuals who, having attained mature years, and still lacking the last molar, are by no means believers in the theory that any con- nection exists between the development of their dental apparatus and intellectual wisdom. One of the primary rules for health in relation to digestion concerns itself with the care of the teeth. It is astonishing to note how few people comparatively attend thoroughly to the health of the teeth. Yet when we consider the important part played by the teeth in digestion, the duty of carefully consider- ing the health of the teeth rises high in importance in the list of physiological details. Primarily, it might well be argued that the possession of thirty-two hard particles within our mouths in- dicated an important use for these structures; but, judging from the frequency with which the food is ''bolted both by old and young, it is clear the proper use of the teeth requires to be strongly insisted on by all health-lecturers. There is only one nation, I believe, worse off than ourselves in the matter of teeth— I mean our American cousins. It is lamentable to reflect upon the amount of pain and misery which is incurred by the neglect of simple precautions in the matter of the teeth. Thus, if the teeth are allowed, as they too often are, through sheer