CHAPTER XVII.
As a general thing, children begin to get teeth from the ages of five to seven months. The middle, or incisors, in the lower jaw, are the first to appear, one in advance of the other; and, too, these may get through almost unnoticed. It is a custom with many persons to begin poking into a babe’s mouth just as soon as it shows restlessness, or signs of getting teeth; and, perceiving that it bites, as naturally it should, they at once introduce a rubber, or some kind of hard substance, for it to bite upon, to assist the teeth through. This is unnatural, and liable to increase the already feverish and fretful condition of the child. The more artificial friction is applied, the more inflamed will the gums become. Teaching babes to bite on the fingers, rings, dolls, and the like, is but subjectingthem to torture which they would gladly repel could they speak.
There is really no set time at which babes should get teeth; some begin much younger than others. There are instances recorded of children being born with teeth; this, however, is of rare occurrence; but it is a common thing to see the forms of well-developed teeth through the delicate, transparent cover of the gums at birth. The development of these little bones is really peculiar, and worthy of the most profound study; but I shall only attempt to speak here in reference to the maturing process, or their making ready to come through the gums, hoping, by so doing, much of the seeming anxiety of young mothers and nurses from this cause may be removed.
The term “critical period” is applied so much to the process of getting teeth that it becomes fixed upon the heart of many mothers long before its time of beginning. The most that must be guarded against is fatigue, either from lying or sitting too long in one position, irregular habits of feeding, and untidyness. The more a child slavers when getting teeth, the better; yet this is not always a sign of coming teeth. The slaver, nevertheless, keeps the mouth cool and moist, preventing dry or papular eruptions. Cold water is advisable, given frequently from a spoon, while the teeth are breaking through. If the child is atthe breast, well; if not, its food should consist of scalded milk; as it grows in strength, oatmeal is a good addition. If hearty and craving in disposition, Graham crackers crumbled in and fed to it with a spoon, about twice a day, generally gives due satisfaction. If the passes from the bowels are numerous, yet healthy, a drink of gum-arabic water two or three times a day, together with flour added to the milk in place of oatmeal, will generally regulate them. Over distention of the stomach by sweetened drinks should be strictly avoided. The extreme fretfulness of the babe at this time is caused by the pressure of the crown of the tooth against the sore or swollen gum. When the teeth get through, the cause of the distress will be removed. Should the gums continue painful, as is often the case with the double teeth, a dentist or the family physician should be consulted at once; and, if Nature has made ready the bony structure to be bared, the least touch with the lancet will part the skin and assist it through. I repeat that the gums in a healthy condition seldom need lancing; they may be left to Nature. Admitting, however, that there are numerous cases of daily occurrence where the lancet ought to be applied, it is positively forbidden by some would-be friend. The surest way to stop toothache in the adult is to extract the decayed member, and so the surest way to cut short the sufferings of an innocent babe,whose gums are swollen and painful, is to lance the gum, and let the tooth come through. Children whose mouths are dry from being kept too hot, eating highly-seasoned or salt food, or from some hereditary disposition, are especially liable to be late getting teeth, and there are many living evidences where none ever appeared.
The greater mischief is done to the whole nervous system by the unnatural but ancient custom of pressing and rubbing the gum long before, or at the time the teeth are making ready to come through. I believe it possible to trace the cause of insanity to the pernicious custom of rubbing the gums of infants. Once commenced, it, like all applications that arouse the feelings, is looked for at a certain time, rendering the child a burden rather than a pleasure to the family circle. It is strange, but true, that the anxiety of some mothers to see the much-mooted “critical period” culminates in a desire to bring it about.
The four cutters may appear in the upper jaw before the lower ones; two may come close together, then the two lower ones. After a while, the other cutters get through, making eight in all,—four up and four down. Then comes the canineor dog teeth, of which there are four,—two upper and two lower. About this time the stomach begins to be more or less affected, according to the surroundings; the child is said to be “cutting its eyeteeth.” Lastly come the grinders, of which there are eight,—four upper and four lower,—twenty in all,—and are denominated milk teeth. The following is the order in which they appear: Eight incisors or cutting teeth; four canine or dog teeth; eight molars or grinders.
Many babes keep their mouths firmly shut against rubbing intruders, and, as if to surprise one, open the mouth to cry, and display quite a row of pearly teeth. Healthy, well-developed children generally have all their first teeth by the third year. Backward or rachitic children often have none at that age. I am acquainted with several apparently robust persons who never had all of their first teeth, and who are now probably past the age to get them.
After the first teeth are through, precaution is necessary to preserve them. They should be kindly looked after each day, any foreign particles removed, and the teeth wiped with a wet cloth. No hot or exceedingly cold, sour, hard, or brittle substances should be allowed to be bitten on, as they are easily broken. A snagged-tooth child looks almost as repulsive as a snagged-tooth man or woman. If people will let their children goaround, as in midsummer they frequently do, with bare feet on the cold sidewalk, or with wet feet from having waded in every accessible puddle of water, while getting their grinders, they should not wonder at the great number of deaths under four years old. For thus, many, besides suffering greatly with pain from teething, take cold, which may develop in lung fever. Hardly any one says, “My child died from exposure while teething.” Nay, but pneumonia sets in, and the teething has to bear the blame. The primary cause is overshadowed by the probable secondary cause of death. If the first teeth are well cared for, all decaying ones removed in good season, the foundation of a handsome, permanent set will be sure, there being no constitutional diseases of the teeth themselves.
Loose, aching teeth are no less annoying to children than to adults, and it is cruel to force them to endure the pain when a few cents paid out to a dentist would remove it at once. Uneven, overlapped, inverted, projecting, and anomalous teeth are nearly all occasioned by neglecting to remove the milk teeth in proper time. Usually the application of the dental forceps is no more dreaded than the linen thread.
It is a mistake to suppose that children must have sore ears, eyes, mouth, nose, head, or some sickening eruption of the skin while teething. Onthe contrary, it has been clearly proved that too much heat and uncleanliness are the chief causes of these repulsive troubles. If sores or pimples do appear at times, they can with propriety be washed often with warm water, anointed with cold cream, till well; or, if there are bleeding pimples, sprinkling the parts, after washing each day, with calcined magnesia and elm flour, in equal quantities, will soon effect a cure. Babes whose scalps are well cleaned at birth seldom, if ever, have sore head. There is not the slightest danger of giving the child cold by cleaning it off as fast as possible, when discovered. I have frequently seen little three-year-old ones playing about with not only a sore patch full of greasy dirt on their scalp, but a filthy-looking cap, called a tar cap; in this way they have been kept till the hair-tubes were as completely destroyed as if the head had been scalded. It is not very encouraging to know that the great wisdom which prompts people to do, or persist in having done, these mischievous things, is never sufficient to find the remedy for the injury done. Whenever scurf does form on the head, it may be removed by applying sweet oil; should there be disposition to matter, a wash, made by boiling burdock root in water,—say half an ounce to a pint,—applied once or twice a day, is cleansing. To heal a healthy scalp sore, red oak bark, steeped in water,—say half an ounce to a quart,—makesa good wash. Sometimes the cure is very tedious; but, with due patience, all will be well.
When children get so that they can nibble, it is not a good plan to begin putting candies and knick-knacks in their hands as a play-rule; for this habit induces, to a certainty, all the unpleasant symptoms attendant upon indigestion; the most marked of which, in children, is unrest, fretfulness, loss of eye-sight, loss of teeth, and dwarfed statures. I take pleasure in recommending the following as a healthy, desirable kind of biscuit for children: Take one teacupful each of wheat and Graham or Indian corn-meal; one half cup of brown sugar or molasses; half teaspoonful of salt; mix with warm milk, knead well, cut into medium size cracker form, and bake quickly. They are nice, and should be eaten at regular meal times, dry, or crumbed in milk-and-water tea. Milk should never be withheld from children on a pretext of being feverish.