Are You Beautiful When You Smile?

Good health, a beautiful appearance, and sound teeth form a chain of connected links.

For if you want to be beautiful and in sound health, you must look after your teeth. There was a time when teeth were considered a mere ornament of the bright, smiling face; today we know that nothing is more dangerous to health and beauty than teeth that lack care.

Decayed, discolored teeth are not merely ugly; they breed germs that seep into the blood and cause many ailments and diseases — stomach trouble, headache, rheumatism, and, at times, deafness. A single decayed tooth can pour into the mouth enough poison to affect any organ of the body.

So what are you to do? You can prevent that ugly yellow film, for it is the result of the small remnants of food that gather on the teeth after eating.

If you do not remove these particles, they ferment, and your teeth turn into a chemical factory teeming with various substances, producing harmful, poisonous fluids for you.

These poisons are usually acids arising from the fermentation of food particles. The wise woman does not neglect to take the measures needed to counter the natural tendency of acids to gather in the mouth after eating: she provides herself with one of the many alkaline toothpastes that counteract the effect of the harmful acids, and after cleaning her teeth she rinses her mouth with a mouth antiseptic or with milk of magnesia.

The older a person grows, the more the gums tend to shrink back from the crowns of the teeth. This increases the crevices in which the acids gather, and exposes the teeth, more than before, to the danger of the acids, for they are no longer protected by the layer of enamel that covers the greater part of the tooth. To prevent this, take a little toothpaste on the tip of your finger and massage the gums with circular motions; then massage the upper teeth with a downward stroke and the lower teeth with an upward stroke. It is an operation that takes a few seconds, but it will spare you a great deal of trouble in the future.

It is well known that in our present age we all incline to eat a great deal of tender meat and soft foods. This deprives the gums of the natural massage supplied by hard foods; and we also consume large quantities of sugary substances — and sugar, as is well known, is the greatest generator of acids in the mouth. Remember this; and remember, too, not to wait for the first twinge of pain before going to the dentist: you should have him examine your teeth at least three times every year.

And here is my advice about toothbrushes. You should use the stiffest brush you can be comfortable

with; and if your brush grows soft, replace it with a new one, for water makes the bristles of a brush soft. Most people keep two brushes, to use them day about, in turn. The bristles of the brush should be stiff, and you should choose a brush whose bristles can penetrate into the finest openings that lie between the teeth. More important than this, you must clean your teeth from behind with the brush as thoroughly as you clean them from in front, for diseases of the teeth usually begin at the back.

There are two ways of cleaning the teeth: one is the right way, and the other is the reverse of it. First, your cleaning must be vigorous, for gentleness does no good here; and do not be content to clean with horizontal strokes only, but with upward and downward strokes as well. If you notice a black spot on your teeth, take a piece of dental floss and clean that place thoroughly, for decay of the teeth often follows the appearance of these spots. Indeed, you would do well to pass a piece of dental floss between all your teeth, after brushing them, before you go to sleep; and you would also do well to dip the piece of floss in an antiseptic solution before using it.

The best agent for whitening the teeth and countering the acids at the same time is ordinary table salt. If you sprinkle a quantity of it on a dry brush and clean your teeth with it, it will whiten them more than any other cleanser. And if you mix it with carbonate of soda, you will get an even better result.

It is well known that a smile lights up the gloomiest of faces and lends beauty to ordinary ones — provided your teeth are sound and clean. So, Madam, you must attend to your teeth, and remember that they are a vital part of your body: tend them with your care, and they will tend you with health and add to your loveliness and beauty.