each
individual case, the dentist will decide what may be required; only, I
would again repeat, do not neglect the occasional inspection of the
mouth at this age, if you regard the future comfort and appearance of
your child.

THEIR PRESERVATION.--The preservation of the teeth requires attention to
several points; the first and principal of which is, to enforce the
habit in the child of thoroughly cleaning the teeth by means of water
and a brush night and morning, and rinsing out the mouth after each
meal. The brush should not be very hard, as it will not only be more
difficult to clean the interstices between the teeth, the
part in which the tartar[FN#24] is most likely to be deposited, but by
its friction, will occasion the gradual absorption of the gum and the
exposure of the neck of the teeth. The hair of the brush should be firm
and elastic, and not too closely set.

[FN#24] A sort of calcareous substance, which becomes deposited at
the roots of the teeth, from a want of proper attention to
cleanliness; and, if allowed to remain, will destroy first their
beauty, and then the organ itself.

TARTAR.--If there is a tendency to the formation of tartar, then it will
be necessary to have recourse to some tooth-powder. Tooth-powders,
however, must be chosen with care, as many of them are composed of
substances highly injurious to the teeth. "Many of the tooth-powders
which are offered for sale, with the promise of rendering the teeth
beautifully white, perform, for a time, all that is promised, at the
expense of permanent and irremediable injury to the teeth; for they
often contain a quantity of tartaric or other acid, which effects a
gradual decomposition of the enamel."[FN#25] Prepared chalk is one of
the simplest and best tooth-powders.

[FN#25] Bell on the Teeth.

The following form, also, may be used with advantage:--

Prepared chalk, three ounces;
Orris root, powdered, half an ounce;
Powdered myrrh, half an ounce;
Cuttle fish, powdered, one ounce;
Essential oil of cinnamon, four drops.--Mix.

The best preservative, then, against the formation of tartar, is to
see that the child cleans his teeth thoroughly night and morning with
the brush, powder, and water, and also (if possible) that he rinses out
the mouth after each meal.

If the gums should be tender, irritable, and bleed (as is frequently
the case when an individual gets out of health, or the tartar
accumulates) the mouth may b