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Mouth hygiene for children
MOUTH
HYGIENE
ANNIE J’upervisor
of
Mouth,
FOR CHILDREN”
TAYLOR, Hygiene,
ATLANTA,
Georgia State
GA. Board
of
Health
TARTING to school holds the center of interest among the people of our state. Our store windows, our newspapers, and current magazines remind us: Back to school. Are you ready for school? Cet ready for school. The State Board of Health sends this message to parents: “Before you send your children to the strenuous life of the schoolroom, make sure they are not physically handicapped.”
S
These are privileged children who are entering our schools today, privileged because they demand and receive more from our schools tha.n any former generation. Teachers have grasped the enormous possibilit,y of the schoolroom as a place where health habits can be inculcated as firmly as the alphabet and multiplication tables. The modern school is making every effort to keep the well child well and to bring the child phys’ically up to st,amdard. Thousands of grown-ups wish that the schools had had this particular enthusiasm twenty years ago. An important part of the school health program is mouth hygiene. Teeth play a most significant part in general health. The school can accomplish little without the cooperation of the home. What are you as parents doing to prepare for, encourage, and direct your child’s response to mouth hygiene S Does your child like milk, fruits, and vegetables? Does he enjoy the feeling of a clean mouth? Does he go to the dentist willingly twice a yea.r ? If you can answer “yes ” to these questions, then your child’s response to mouth hygiene is good. If at any point you must answer “no, ” then your child’s response to mouth hygiene is correspondingly poor. Parents of today begin to establish proper habits of eating, sleeping, and elimination for the infant at birth. At about two years of age the habit of brushing the teeth with a small soft brush can be made most attractive because of the opportunity to play a short time in the water. At, about two and a half years of age, a visit to the dentist will be another adventure. This first trip should be one in which the child investigates the office and makes the acquaintance of the dentist rather than one in which any dental work is actually accomplished. The aim of health work today is the growth of the whole child. His physical condition is important-so are his mental reactions and his emotiQna1 responses. Therefore, great care is taken by the wise parent, dentist, and health *A
radio
talk. 1216
Mouth
Hygiene
for Children
1217
worker to proceed slowly and to build up confidence and happy a,ssociations with all phases of mouth hygiene-eating, brushing teeth and visiting the dentist. The healthy, unspoiled child, even before school age, makes a good dental patient. After their confidence is won, most children are eager to follow suggestions given them about mouth hygiene. It seems too bad that their enthusiasm is dampened by indifference at home, especially when it is their little bodies which pay the toll. Teach boys and girls that baby teeth are just as important as permanent teeth and that at about six years of age each boy and girl gets four large permanent teeth which erupt in back of the baby jaw teeth. It is astonishing what good results small children can get with a toothbrush. They may be too little to have acquired any mastery of a proper method of brushing, and yet they will apply the brush regularly and with a will under pleasant circumstances. The dental certificate is now used in many schools of the state as a successful means of stimulating interest in the care of the mouths of children. Dental requirements for a certificate vary, but approximately are as follows: 1. The teeth should be reasonably clean. If calculus is present, it should be removed and any gum infection cleared up. 2. All cavities in deciduous or permanent teeth should be filled, including small pits or fissures where a fine point of a dental instrument will penetrate the enamel. 3. All teeth that cannot be successfully treated or filled should be extracted, including all little pieces of deciduous roots remaining in the mouth. We are told by physicians that decayed baby teeth often cause diseased tonsils, enlarged glands, earache, a bad heart, kidney disease, or other troubles that may last for the rest of the child’s life, or they may even shorten life. Infected teeth lower the body resistance to disease and cause dull, listless children, poor school work, and sometimes failure to pass grades. If your child had abscesses on his arms, legs, or chest, would you leave them alone and make no attempt to give relief by medical care? Because a tooth is not aching is not Protect your child’s health sufficient proof that it is not causing trouble. by keeping his mouth clean and free from dental infection. Teachers all agree that the well child is not only the happy child but t.he one who makes the best progress in school. You will find that a healthy mouth has a great deal to do with your child’s healt,h, happiness, and progress in school. The State Board of Health wishes to impress upon every parent the importance of constant development during the foundation years. In order to achieve the highest type of mental and physical standards in adult life, every year of childhood must contribute its share. Nature never forgives the sins of omission in child care. Is your child entering school free from dental troubles?
Remember : Healthy teeth resist decay. Milk, fruits? vegetables, whole grains, and sunshine are good tooth builders, There is no such thing as a cavity too small to fill. Have the first permanent molars examined a.nd filled if necessary as soon as they come through the gums. Diseased teeth and gums lower the resistance of the child or grown person. And last, the child’s response to mouth hygiene is a reflection of your own attitude; so be a good example jr1 eatin, (r correct foods, cleaning your teeth, and visiting your dentist.
HYGIENE
ANNIE J’upervisor
of
Mouth,
FOR CHILDREN”
TAYLOR, Hygiene,
ATLANTA,
Georgia State
GA. Board
of
Health
TARTING to school holds the center of interest among the people of our state. Our store windows, our newspapers, and current magazines remind us: Back to school. Are you ready for school? Cet ready for school. The State Board of Health sends this message to parents: “Before you send your children to the strenuous life of the schoolroom, make sure they are not physically handicapped.”
S
These are privileged children who are entering our schools today, privileged because they demand and receive more from our schools tha.n any former generation. Teachers have grasped the enormous possibilit,y of the schoolroom as a place where health habits can be inculcated as firmly as the alphabet and multiplication tables. The modern school is making every effort to keep the well child well and to bring the child phys’ically up to st,amdard. Thousands of grown-ups wish that the schools had had this particular enthusiasm twenty years ago. An important part of the school health program is mouth hygiene. Teeth play a most significant part in general health. The school can accomplish little without the cooperation of the home. What are you as parents doing to prepare for, encourage, and direct your child’s response to mouth hygiene S Does your child like milk, fruits, and vegetables? Does he enjoy the feeling of a clean mouth? Does he go to the dentist willingly twice a yea.r ? If you can answer “yes ” to these questions, then your child’s response to mouth hygiene is good. If at any point you must answer “no, ” then your child’s response to mouth hygiene is correspondingly poor. Parents of today begin to establish proper habits of eating, sleeping, and elimination for the infant at birth. At about two years of age the habit of brushing the teeth with a small soft brush can be made most attractive because of the opportunity to play a short time in the water. At, about two and a half years of age, a visit to the dentist will be another adventure. This first trip should be one in which the child investigates the office and makes the acquaintance of the dentist rather than one in which any dental work is actually accomplished. The aim of health work today is the growth of the whole child. His physical condition is important-so are his mental reactions and his emotiQna1 responses. Therefore, great care is taken by the wise parent, dentist, and health *A
radio
talk. 1216
Mouth
Hygiene
for Children
1217
worker to proceed slowly and to build up confidence and happy a,ssociations with all phases of mouth hygiene-eating, brushing teeth and visiting the dentist. The healthy, unspoiled child, even before school age, makes a good dental patient. After their confidence is won, most children are eager to follow suggestions given them about mouth hygiene. It seems too bad that their enthusiasm is dampened by indifference at home, especially when it is their little bodies which pay the toll. Teach boys and girls that baby teeth are just as important as permanent teeth and that at about six years of age each boy and girl gets four large permanent teeth which erupt in back of the baby jaw teeth. It is astonishing what good results small children can get with a toothbrush. They may be too little to have acquired any mastery of a proper method of brushing, and yet they will apply the brush regularly and with a will under pleasant circumstances. The dental certificate is now used in many schools of the state as a successful means of stimulating interest in the care of the mouths of children. Dental requirements for a certificate vary, but approximately are as follows: 1. The teeth should be reasonably clean. If calculus is present, it should be removed and any gum infection cleared up. 2. All cavities in deciduous or permanent teeth should be filled, including small pits or fissures where a fine point of a dental instrument will penetrate the enamel. 3. All teeth that cannot be successfully treated or filled should be extracted, including all little pieces of deciduous roots remaining in the mouth. We are told by physicians that decayed baby teeth often cause diseased tonsils, enlarged glands, earache, a bad heart, kidney disease, or other troubles that may last for the rest of the child’s life, or they may even shorten life. Infected teeth lower the body resistance to disease and cause dull, listless children, poor school work, and sometimes failure to pass grades. If your child had abscesses on his arms, legs, or chest, would you leave them alone and make no attempt to give relief by medical care? Because a tooth is not aching is not Protect your child’s health sufficient proof that it is not causing trouble. by keeping his mouth clean and free from dental infection. Teachers all agree that the well child is not only the happy child but t.he one who makes the best progress in school. You will find that a healthy mouth has a great deal to do with your child’s healt,h, happiness, and progress in school. The State Board of Health wishes to impress upon every parent the importance of constant development during the foundation years. In order to achieve the highest type of mental and physical standards in adult life, every year of childhood must contribute its share. Nature never forgives the sins of omission in child care. Is your child entering school free from dental troubles?
Remember : Healthy teeth resist decay. Milk, fruits? vegetables, whole grains, and sunshine are good tooth builders, There is no such thing as a cavity too small to fill. Have the first permanent molars examined a.nd filled if necessary as soon as they come through the gums. Diseased teeth and gums lower the resistance of the child or grown person. And last, the child’s response to mouth hygiene is a reflection of your own attitude; so be a good example jr1 eatin, (r correct foods, cleaning your teeth, and visiting your dentist.