WHY THE TEETH DECAY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3327, 20 September 1911, Page 7

WHY THE TEETH DECAY.

THE BASIC CAUSE. “The almost universal decay, of the teeth is proof positive that our Nation is suffering lime starvation,” writes a chemistry lecturer in the Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette; “85 per cent of the school children of Louisville haY r e badly decayed teeth. “Our dentists prescribe- tootli washes and tooth pastes, advocate local hygiene, fill cavities and fit bridges, aiuL all this time ignore the fact that- the basic cause is lime starvation. “Dentists will tell you that the sugar you take in your mouth acts directly upon your teeth. Dentists shut their eyes to the evident fact- that decay starts first in the pulp beneath the intact enamel and honeycombs the interior tootli until the shell-like bridge of enamel breaks beneath the strain. “The enamel gives absolute protection against the external attacks of acids and sugar. I have immersed epund teeth for months in a solution of fruit .acids and sugar, and have been unable to detect any erosion of either tlie enamel or the pulp. “When you eat sweetmeats, tlie sugar. with its irresistible affinity for soluble lime, combines with the calcium of the blood-, and the blood- retaliates by sapping the soluble from tlie pulp and substance of the teeth. Druggists make use of this affinity of soluble lime for sugar Yvhen preparing the official syrup of lime. ‘Lime forms a solution thirty-five times stronger in simple 6yrup than in the same quantity of water. If you want your children to have sound, white teeth, see that their diet is rich in lime and poor in sugar.’