Many persons for years suffer this substance to collect around their teeth, supposing it to be a part of their structure, entertaining the idea that its removal would injure the enamel. After a while the teeth becoming loose, and the gums tender and inflamed, they consult a dentist, and are surprised to learn that it has no more connection with the teeth than a lump of clay has with the leather of the boot to which it adheres. Tartar in its soft state can readily be removed by the brush and powder, but when it becomes hard it requires the dentist. Our remarks relative to the origin and cause of the decay of the teeth, are intended to be taken in a general sense, and must not be understood to mean that decay never originates from any other source than from the effects of decomposed food, acids, and tartar. These, however, are the most prominent, and more completely under the control of the dentist and patient. There are many minor causes, such as a constitutional predisposition to disease, malformation, a crowded state of the teeth, imperfect structure, as well as the indirect effects of constitutional derangements, all of which are little understood by individuals not belonging to the medical or dental profession. Our remarks thus far have been mostly intended to apply to the permanent or second growth of teeth. We will now offer some suggestions in relation to the care necessary for the deciduous or first growth. The same care and attention required for the preservation of the permanent teeth is necessary for the deciduous teeth. Nature never intended that the teeth of children should be lost or removed by decay; but that they should remain to fulfill their offices until she should hang out her signal for their removal by causing them to become loose, and give way for the permanent set by the absorption of their roots. If nature had her course we should seldom witness a case of irregular or deformed teeth or mouth, now so common. The principal reason of this deformity is, that one or more of the temporary teeth have been removed, on account of pain and decay, before its time, in consequence of which the space that nature had reserved for the permanent tooth becomes so contracted that when it does appear it is crowded from its position, and is either left thus crowded, (in which case it is not only unsightly, but tends to destroy the symmetry that nature intended,) or a sound tooth has to be sacrificed to make room for it. Scarcely a week passes that the dentist is not called upon to correct some irregularity in this manner. Children have twenty temporary or deciduous teeth, the germs of which, as well as of the permanent, exist in the jaw even previous to birth, and begin making their appearance about the sixth or seventh month, although the time varies in different children. The period of the eruption of these teeth is the most dangerous and troublesome of the child's existence, and every parent would do well to consult a competent dentist, who will, by proper remedies, palliate the disorders incidental to this period. About the second or third year the temporary teeth are complete, and are fully developed, and require the same care to preserve them their proper time, both for usefulness and beauty, as is exercised toward the permanent set. All parents should be impressed with the importance of this fact, as they value the health, comfort, and beauty of their offspring. Protect the first set of teeth from the spoiler. Rather let the face or hands of your child remain unwashed, than the child's mouth, and breath, and health suffer from unclean and thereby rotten teeth. Early initiate the child into the mysteries of the dental toilet, by teaching him to use powder and the brush. Teach him that it is necessary that the mouth should be clean to eat his morning meal, as this time is generally best to clean the teeth, as it removes all vitiated secretions that have accumulated through the night. Then have the toothpick (an instrument more requisite than the brush for healthy teeth) brought into requisition after eating, so as to remove all particles of food that remain lodged between the teeth. Many a child would be saved from a great amount of suffering, and the parents spared a great amount of trouble, if these rules were observed. About the sixth year, or soon after, four permanent molar or double teeth make their appearance. Let every parent remember this, as it is generally supposed that these four teeth belong to the first set, and that if they decay and are removed they will come again. This is a mistaken idea. They are permanent teeth, and if lost will be lost for ever. No teeth that come after the sixth year are ever shed. At twelve years the second set is usually complete, with the exception of the dens sapientiæ, or wisdom teeth, which make their appearance from the eighteenth to the twenty-fourth year. During the eruption of the second set the beauty and character of the child's countenance is completed, and everything depends upon proper care and attention at this time, to see that the teeth come with regularity and without being crowded. Should this be the case the parent may expect a finely formed mouth; and such deformities as we often see, as a rabbit narrowness of the mouth, contracting the lips and altering the whole expression of the face, as well as the projecting chin, etc., caused by neglect of early dental attention at this period, will be avoided. Another very important reason why the teeth should early in life receive the utmost care and professional attention, is the effect they exert upon the articulation. The loss of a single tooth affects the utterance, and invariably produces a hissing or lisping sound in articulating certain words containing the dental vowels, such as t, d, s, q, and j. All public speakers, especially lawyers, clergymen, and others, should, as they value a correct enunciation and articulation, remember that the teeth were placed by nature to form a certain arch for the express purpose of giving force and purity of utterance. The modulation of the voice, also, is in a great measure dependent upon the shape of the mouth, and healthy condition of the teeth and their contiguous parts. Dr. Hill, in his valuable and interesting paper on the Teeth and Voice,* says, when speaking on this subject, that "the experience and observation of every thinking man may be called to our aid in support of this position. For it cannot have escaped them, that many individuals of profound intellects and brilliant parts make but a sorry figure in their fruitless attempts at oratory and elocution. Every one who has had experience in regard to matters of this kind must have been conscious of great disappointment in not realizing his expectations in regard to certain distinguished men with whose writings he has been long familiar. Having fancied to himself that because they could wield a pen so successfully they must, therefore, be accomplished speakers, and finding himself sadly mistaken, he is at a loss to account for a circumstance so strange, and apparently contradictory. But where lies the difficulty? Certainly not on the score of intellect, for their acquirements are demonstrable from their writings; nor is it because they have never enjoyed the advantages of tuition where elocution was taught. What, then, is the obstacle? We answer, it is to be found in the peculiar conformation of the mouth and the wretched condition of the teeth, giving rise to impediments and difficulties which constitute their misfortune, and of which they are most painfully conscious. Let any one visit a dentist's laboratory, and view the casts of different mouths, and he will readily see one reason why people have voices and articulation so various and unlike each other. Some casts represent a mouth not unlike a squirrel's, very narrow and contracted, the upper jaw projecting far over the under, giving a squeaking, effeminate intonation to the voice. Such a shaped mouth is incapable of producing perfect language. We have in our possession two such casts, having the appearance of having been pressed together in a vice. The possessors of these mouths never actually talked, but rather squeaked. No amount of learning, or talent, or study of elocution could ever enable the possessor of such a mouth to become an orator. The whole Published in the October number of the Dental Journal, 1847. cause of such deformity was owing to the neglect of the parents while the teeth were being shed. Had a dentist been consulted, the crowded condition of the teeth could have been remedied. There were too many for the space to be occupied; so they became irregular, pressing each other, and thereby deforming the mouth. The above case of deformity is but one in thousands that could be related. But even allowing that all due care has been exercised to preserve the symmetry of the dental arch by having at the proper time the teeth removed, so that there is no crowding or malformation, still, unless the teeth are preserved from decay by proper attention to their health, there will be a difficulty of articulation and enunciation. Dr. Hill relates a case that occurred in his own practice: "The Rev. Mr. S. was deeply afflicted with a diseased bicuspid, situated on the right side of the upper jaw. He called at our office for relief; we advised extraction, and it was removed. On the following Sabbath, while engaged in the performance of Divine service, he became so annoyed by the loss of that tooth, and so difficult was his enunciation, that he was compelled to stop in the midst of his discourse, and explain the cause of his difficulty to his congregation. And this from the loss of a single tooth." If such a case of inconvenience arises from the loss of a single tooth, what must be the effect where, from neglect, almost all are lost. A clergyman not long since called upon us to have some slight operation performed, who had, by inattention and neglect, allowed tartar to collect and remain around his teeth, so that his breath was not only very offensive, but a number of his teeth were lost from this cause, and others were loose. Such was the condition of his mouth, that when he spoke in the pulpit a hissing sound was audible throughout the church. The teeth cannot have too much room. If they were a little separated, they would be less liable to decay. Such men as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Patrick Henry, and others, had broad, well-formed mouths. It behooves every one, especially public speakers, to seek to remedy, as far as possible, any deformity that may arise from the loss of the teeth. In a great measure this may be effected by artificial substitutes. In this age of dentistry there is no deformity or loss that cannot be readily remedied and supplied by the competent dental surgeon in such a manner that, after a little practice, the artificial teeth may be said to make up the deficiency occasioned by the loss of the natural, and fulfill to a wonderful degree all purposes of mastication, articulation, and beauty. Artificial teeth are now made and set on various material, principally on gold and platina. Those on gold are mostly parts of sets, for which purpose it is the best; but for whole upper or under sets, Dr. John Allen's invention of continuous gum-work, or, in other words, a porcelain body baked on a base of platina, is now taking the place of all other materials. One of the principal reasons is that the materials are perfectly pure, being porcelain, pure gold, and platina, so constructed that no impurities of the mouth can tarnish or penetrate them; then again it is in one piece, and can be so enameled and carved as to almost defy detection, or awaken the suspicion that they are artificial. The use of false teeth is very ancient. Although we have no reliable information in what country or among what people they originated, there are accounts of these appliances in the works of Grecian and Roman authors; but they must have been of the rudest kind, and of far different make and material from those of the present day. It was not until the present century that anything like perfection and comfort were attained in the manufacture and use of artificial dentures. It is, in fact, but a few years since the principal material of which artificial teeth were composed was either that of various animals, or human teeth; all of which answered but partially, as all such material was more or less liable to decay, and become offensive in the mouth. Then, again, the metal and other attachments were of the rudest kind, soon wearing and injuring the teeth to which they were attached. Within a few years this branch of dentistry has advanced with rapid strides, so that now, as we have remarked above, artificial teeth of the purest material and perfect adaptation to the mouth can be obtained, answering all purposes for which they are needed. ART. X.-RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. ENGLAND. Protestantism. — A number of BILLS RELATING TO RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS have been acted upon by the Parliament in the usual manner. Spooner's Anti-Maynooth bill has been defeated by a large majority. A bill for the abolition of Church rates has been carried in the House of Commons, but rejected by the House of Lords. The Jews have at length forced their entrance into Parliament, the House of Lords having passed a bill to permit the House of Commons to admit Jews. THE POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT WITH REGARD TO INDIA will not be changed. Its countenance and aid will not be given to the means of bringing the Christian religion under the notice of the native population, but the strictest neutrality will be observed as before. The petitions for a division of the diocese of Calcutta, and the erection of several new episcopal sees have not been granted. So much the greater have been the efforts of the MisSIONARY SOCIETIES, most of which have had, during the past year, a considerable in |