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Teeth as They Affect Personality*
Bureau of D ental H ealth Education is carried out year after year, the initial first grade and each succeeding class be ing annually reexamined and cared for until they leave school. Thus, in a period of years, the teeth of the whole school are conditioned at a minimum of ex pense, because children regularly exam ined and treated from the age of 6 do not need much dental attention. An average of about 2 Reichsmark (fifty cents) a year is spent for each child. Bonn, after using this system of den tal care for twelve years, has about 92 per cent of its pupils leaving school at 14 years of age without any dental decay. More than 300,000 pupils in Germany,
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Austria, and Czechoslovakia have been provided with this type of dental care, and 87.78 per cent of them do not show any decay of the permanent teeth. Undoubtedly, this method of dental care for school children is the most effi cient one in Central Europe, and the re sults are most gratifying. I should not like to appear to be recommending it for the United States, as conditions are dif ferent in different countries. The dental profession in the states is doing adm ir able work for the children, as I have personally observed, but I am deeply in terested in learning how other countries are handling this problem.
TEETH AS THEY AFFECT PERSONALITY* B y W IL L IA M H . G IL P A T R IC , D .D .S., B oston, Mass.
Y subject, “Teeth as They Affect Personality,” shall come from three points of v iew : ( 1) preven tion of disease; ( 2 ) w hat modern dentis try should do for you, and (3 ) the par ticular points about good teeth and health in the mouth as related to personality. T o go back to 1872: Oliver W endell Holmes, the famous author and poet, who was also a professor at the Harvard M edical School, had the following re marks to make about dentistry as it affects personality:
M
poets an d s a tiris ts a re fu ll of allusio n s to the b e a u ty and d efo rm ity d ep en d in g upon the condition of the teeth. M en can conceal the im p erfectio n of the d en ta l arran g em en ts b y le ttin g the eav es of a h e a v y m ustache o v ersh ad o w th e ir m ouths. B ut to wom en, to h id e w h ose sm ile w o u ld be to take a w a y h a lf the sun sh in e of life , an d to whom N atu re h as k in d ly re fu se d the g ro w th th at w o uld d e p riv e us o f it, th e re is no elem ent o f h er w o ndro us b e a u ty w h ich can ta k e the p lace o f w h ite, even, w e ll-sh a p e d teeth. A nd as b eau ty is not a m ere p la yth in g , but a g r e a t force, lik e g r a v it y o r e le c tric ity , the a rt w h ich keeps it, m ends it, an d , to some extent, m akes it, is o f co rresp o n d in g im p ortance.
T h e re is no p e a rl in a n y ro y a l crow n for w hich a yo u n g queen w o u ld g iv e one o f h er fro n t in ciso rs. T h e teeth, in th e ir re la tio n to the b eau ty of the h um an countenance, h av e figured in p o etry fro m the e a r lie s t tim es. T h e ir w h iten ess h as been co m pared to th at of snow, o f P a r ia n m a rb le, an d of p earls, until v e rse is tire d of the im ag e s. T h e ancient
W hile dentistry, as Dr. Holmes has said, plays an important part in keeping and mending the beauty of the face by means of the treatment and care of dental deformities, it also plays a very important part in preserving such beauty by the prevention of threatening disease in the mouth before it occurs.
^ B ro ad cast o v er S tatio n W E E I u n d er the ausp ices of the N ew E n g lan d D en tal Society.
Jour. A , D, A., November, 1931
2230
The Journal of the American D ental Association
Dentistry, like medicine, is then really a suicidal profession, for its fundamental purpose is to find out the real reasons be hind all dental disease, get rid of such disease through preventive measures, and thus bring about the ideal state where no dentistry w ill be needed. Such a state is what dentists are working for; but it is a long w ay off as yet, and it cannot pos sibly be reached until every one cooper ates with his dentist to the fullest pos sible extent. If everyone knew the true facts about the development of the teeth, much suf fering from all kinds of disease in the mouth could be prevented. Few realize that the teeth of the unborn child start to form in the jaw s at the fourth month of pregnancy, and, that being the case, it is extremely important for the mother to have the right kind of diet to develop strong teeth and bones in her child. The prospective mother, then, has a great re sponsibility. T he whole future health of her child may be affected by proper care or lack of it at this important time, and therefore she should visit her family den tist and her family physician early in pregnancy to find out what she should eat in order to benefit her child to the fullest extent. Percy R. Howe, director of the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children, has proved conclusively that a mother’s diet is one of the mo«t important factors in the sound development and growth of her child. A t approximately six months after birth, the first teeth make their appear ance through the gums. T his set consists of twenty teeth, all small, to harmonize with the small features of the baby. A t this time, diet also plays an important part in the care of the very young child, for while the mother or father may not realize it, the permanent teeth, which are not cut until some years later, are being
formed in the baby’s jaw s. Hence, two things are of great importance during the first six years of the child’s life, among other things, to ensure strong healthy teeth throughout life and to prevent pos sible serious disease in the mouth: ( 1 ) a strong tooth-building, bone-building diet to make for strong permanent teeth in later life, and ( 2 ) careful attention to the temporary teeth. M any parents say, “Don’t bother to take care of the baby teeth, as they w ill be lost in a few years anyhow.” Such a statement is very unwise; for unless these baby teeth are taken care of and watched almost from their first ap pearance, much serious damage w ill re sult in later life. Decay of baby teeth makes it very hard for the child to chew proper foods, and leads to the use of improper diet, with all kinds of complica tions bound to result. T he child may suf fer from various disorders of the stomach from the use of improper foods, and if the baby teeth are lost through disease or decay, the permanent teeth w ill come through the gums crooked, deformed jaw s resulting in later life. Thus, it is of the greatest importance for a woman to consult the dentist early in pregnancy, and also to take her child to the dentist not later than its second year in order to make sure that she and her child are taking full advantage of preventive measures. T his brings me to my second point: what modern dentistry should do for you, that is, if you w ill but give it the chance. Modern dentistry, in cooperating with the fam ily physician, can give the pros pective mother proper diet for the build ing of strong teeth and bones in her un born child. Modern dentistry can take care of the baby teeth of the young child so as to ensure the cutting of a good set of permanent teeth in later life. And if
Bureau of D ental Health Education you have not taken advantage of preven tive measures in your child’s early years, and it develops crooked, twisted teeth or malformed jaw s, giving it the appearance of either a bulldog, with the protruding lower jaw , or Andy Gump with the re ceding lower jaw , modern dentistry can take care of that, too. It can take young children, between the ages of 6 and 14 years, and it can straighten crooked teeth and pull the jaw s into proper position so that the child can get the most efficient use of the teeth which Nature has placed in its head. And also, in later life, if the perma nent teeth have been lost through dis ease or decay, modern dentistry can re store missing teeth in the mouth by means of plates, crowns and bridges, so that the grown person can get the full benefit of his chewing apparatus. T he third and last point that I wish to stress is the effect of teeth on personality. Did it ever occur to you that your whole career might be ruined by your teeth? T his seems a harsh statement, but it is true. I can cite several instances to back it up. W ithin the last year or so, at least a half dozen girls have come to one of the prominent dental clinics seeking to have crooked teeth straightened, and every one of them said, “In going after jobs we find ourselves at a big disadvan
2231
tage on account of our teeth. W e simply can’t compete with girls who have good looking teeth, whether we really know more about the work or not, and we want to know if something can’t be done for us, to straighten our teeth, so that we can get good jobs as other girls do.” And I can cite many other cases of the same sort. People with bad looking teeth, then, are going through life with two strikes called on them before they even step up to bat. Success in business, at teaching, at public speaking, on the stage—in prac tically every w alk of life— demands per sonality, and one of the most important parts of personality is the person’s smile, and that means the appearance of the teeth. So w hat I have to say to you is this: Stop for a moment and consider what lies ahead of your child and yourself! Can you really afford to lose out at the start through bad teeth? Do you w ant your child to lose out through bad teeth ? Of course not! Then go to your dentist; talk the situation over with him before it is too la te ; go to see him regularly, and especially when you think you have some trouble with your m outh; and let him straighten your difficulties out for you. If in doubt, let your family dentist de cide. He can really help you if you w ill let him.
2229
Austria, and Czechoslovakia have been provided with this type of dental care, and 87.78 per cent of them do not show any decay of the permanent teeth. Undoubtedly, this method of dental care for school children is the most effi cient one in Central Europe, and the re sults are most gratifying. I should not like to appear to be recommending it for the United States, as conditions are dif ferent in different countries. The dental profession in the states is doing adm ir able work for the children, as I have personally observed, but I am deeply in terested in learning how other countries are handling this problem.
TEETH AS THEY AFFECT PERSONALITY* B y W IL L IA M H . G IL P A T R IC , D .D .S., B oston, Mass.
Y subject, “Teeth as They Affect Personality,” shall come from three points of v iew : ( 1) preven tion of disease; ( 2 ) w hat modern dentis try should do for you, and (3 ) the par ticular points about good teeth and health in the mouth as related to personality. T o go back to 1872: Oliver W endell Holmes, the famous author and poet, who was also a professor at the Harvard M edical School, had the following re marks to make about dentistry as it affects personality:
M
poets an d s a tiris ts a re fu ll of allusio n s to the b e a u ty and d efo rm ity d ep en d in g upon the condition of the teeth. M en can conceal the im p erfectio n of the d en ta l arran g em en ts b y le ttin g the eav es of a h e a v y m ustache o v ersh ad o w th e ir m ouths. B ut to wom en, to h id e w h ose sm ile w o u ld be to take a w a y h a lf the sun sh in e of life , an d to whom N atu re h as k in d ly re fu se d the g ro w th th at w o uld d e p riv e us o f it, th e re is no elem ent o f h er w o ndro us b e a u ty w h ich can ta k e the p lace o f w h ite, even, w e ll-sh a p e d teeth. A nd as b eau ty is not a m ere p la yth in g , but a g r e a t force, lik e g r a v it y o r e le c tric ity , the a rt w h ich keeps it, m ends it, an d , to some extent, m akes it, is o f co rresp o n d in g im p ortance.
T h e re is no p e a rl in a n y ro y a l crow n for w hich a yo u n g queen w o u ld g iv e one o f h er fro n t in ciso rs. T h e teeth, in th e ir re la tio n to the b eau ty of the h um an countenance, h av e figured in p o etry fro m the e a r lie s t tim es. T h e ir w h iten ess h as been co m pared to th at of snow, o f P a r ia n m a rb le, an d of p earls, until v e rse is tire d of the im ag e s. T h e ancient
W hile dentistry, as Dr. Holmes has said, plays an important part in keeping and mending the beauty of the face by means of the treatment and care of dental deformities, it also plays a very important part in preserving such beauty by the prevention of threatening disease in the mouth before it occurs.
^ B ro ad cast o v er S tatio n W E E I u n d er the ausp ices of the N ew E n g lan d D en tal Society.
Jour. A , D, A., November, 1931
2230
The Journal of the American D ental Association
Dentistry, like medicine, is then really a suicidal profession, for its fundamental purpose is to find out the real reasons be hind all dental disease, get rid of such disease through preventive measures, and thus bring about the ideal state where no dentistry w ill be needed. Such a state is what dentists are working for; but it is a long w ay off as yet, and it cannot pos sibly be reached until every one cooper ates with his dentist to the fullest pos sible extent. If everyone knew the true facts about the development of the teeth, much suf fering from all kinds of disease in the mouth could be prevented. Few realize that the teeth of the unborn child start to form in the jaw s at the fourth month of pregnancy, and, that being the case, it is extremely important for the mother to have the right kind of diet to develop strong teeth and bones in her child. The prospective mother, then, has a great re sponsibility. T he whole future health of her child may be affected by proper care or lack of it at this important time, and therefore she should visit her family den tist and her family physician early in pregnancy to find out what she should eat in order to benefit her child to the fullest extent. Percy R. Howe, director of the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children, has proved conclusively that a mother’s diet is one of the mo«t important factors in the sound development and growth of her child. A t approximately six months after birth, the first teeth make their appear ance through the gums. T his set consists of twenty teeth, all small, to harmonize with the small features of the baby. A t this time, diet also plays an important part in the care of the very young child, for while the mother or father may not realize it, the permanent teeth, which are not cut until some years later, are being
formed in the baby’s jaw s. Hence, two things are of great importance during the first six years of the child’s life, among other things, to ensure strong healthy teeth throughout life and to prevent pos sible serious disease in the mouth: ( 1 ) a strong tooth-building, bone-building diet to make for strong permanent teeth in later life, and ( 2 ) careful attention to the temporary teeth. M any parents say, “Don’t bother to take care of the baby teeth, as they w ill be lost in a few years anyhow.” Such a statement is very unwise; for unless these baby teeth are taken care of and watched almost from their first ap pearance, much serious damage w ill re sult in later life. Decay of baby teeth makes it very hard for the child to chew proper foods, and leads to the use of improper diet, with all kinds of complica tions bound to result. T he child may suf fer from various disorders of the stomach from the use of improper foods, and if the baby teeth are lost through disease or decay, the permanent teeth w ill come through the gums crooked, deformed jaw s resulting in later life. Thus, it is of the greatest importance for a woman to consult the dentist early in pregnancy, and also to take her child to the dentist not later than its second year in order to make sure that she and her child are taking full advantage of preventive measures. T his brings me to my second point: what modern dentistry should do for you, that is, if you w ill but give it the chance. Modern dentistry, in cooperating with the fam ily physician, can give the pros pective mother proper diet for the build ing of strong teeth and bones in her un born child. Modern dentistry can take care of the baby teeth of the young child so as to ensure the cutting of a good set of permanent teeth in later life. And if
Bureau of D ental Health Education you have not taken advantage of preven tive measures in your child’s early years, and it develops crooked, twisted teeth or malformed jaw s, giving it the appearance of either a bulldog, with the protruding lower jaw , or Andy Gump with the re ceding lower jaw , modern dentistry can take care of that, too. It can take young children, between the ages of 6 and 14 years, and it can straighten crooked teeth and pull the jaw s into proper position so that the child can get the most efficient use of the teeth which Nature has placed in its head. And also, in later life, if the perma nent teeth have been lost through dis ease or decay, modern dentistry can re store missing teeth in the mouth by means of plates, crowns and bridges, so that the grown person can get the full benefit of his chewing apparatus. T he third and last point that I wish to stress is the effect of teeth on personality. Did it ever occur to you that your whole career might be ruined by your teeth? T his seems a harsh statement, but it is true. I can cite several instances to back it up. W ithin the last year or so, at least a half dozen girls have come to one of the prominent dental clinics seeking to have crooked teeth straightened, and every one of them said, “In going after jobs we find ourselves at a big disadvan
2231
tage on account of our teeth. W e simply can’t compete with girls who have good looking teeth, whether we really know more about the work or not, and we want to know if something can’t be done for us, to straighten our teeth, so that we can get good jobs as other girls do.” And I can cite many other cases of the same sort. People with bad looking teeth, then, are going through life with two strikes called on them before they even step up to bat. Success in business, at teaching, at public speaking, on the stage—in prac tically every w alk of life— demands per sonality, and one of the most important parts of personality is the person’s smile, and that means the appearance of the teeth. So w hat I have to say to you is this: Stop for a moment and consider what lies ahead of your child and yourself! Can you really afford to lose out at the start through bad teeth? Do you w ant your child to lose out through bad teeth ? Of course not! Then go to your dentist; talk the situation over with him before it is too la te ; go to see him regularly, and especially when you think you have some trouble with your m outh; and let him straighten your difficulties out for you. If in doubt, let your family dentist de cide. He can really help you if you w ill let him.