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Nancy
Published in TIC, October 1949.
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For some time now, since I wrote the story about “Joan,”* I have been worried. The story of the Joans, the wrecks we can salvage, is important, yes, very important, because these cases are our bread-and-butter dentistry. However, it is unfortunately true that we dentists, just like the surgeon, make more money from the wrecks we salvage; but–and this is what worries me–the very real, valuable service of piloting our patients, a much less spectacular service, is too often minimized. These are the patients we can start with prenatally and bring through their childhood, through adolescence, and into manhood and womanhood without any dental decay, or with a minimum amount. These are the patients we have been able to guide, to steer away from the pitfalls and rocks of dental destruction and ill health, because dental health and good. general health march along together. Perhaps this should be clarified for those skeptics who cannot see the forest for the trees, dental caries or dental decay being only one tree in the whole dental-disease forest.
We, who have devoted our lives to the education and enlightenment of our patients, have had the satisfaction, over a long period of years, of seeing the physical improvements represented by the children of second and third generations. They are patients who, compared with their grandparents and parents, are superior physical specimens. (“Super-rats” I call a few of them.) This superiority extends beyond their teeth. It includes their bony skeleton, their musculature, the very tone of the tissues which are firm, healthy, and resilient, compared with the soft, flabby, water-logged tissues characteristic of ill health.
These children, many of them now grown and with children of their own–who, in turn, are improvements over their parents–furnish us with the rewarding drive necessary to carry on the less spectacular and less remunerative work of real prevention, in which we, acting as pilots, rather than salvors of wrecks, perform a fundamental and fruitful service for our patients.
The Origin of a Case
So, let me tell you the story of Nancy. About nine years ago, a young mother brought her daughter into my office, introducing herself like this: “I am Mrs. Bartholomew. You know my husband, Dick. This is our daughter, Nancy.” In the very next breath she said to me, “If Nancy has any decayed teeth, it is your fault.” I replied, “Well, that is a pretty good number. How do you figure that one out?” She explained, “About the time Nancy was born, Dick and I heard you give a talk at a Parent-Teachers’ meeting; and we have done everything you told us we should do.” (At least that is one talk that registered!) “So,” she continued, “if Nancy has any decayed teeth, it is your fault.”
Well, believe me, I was on a spot. I certainly was anxious to examine Nancy’s mouth. When I did, I found that Nancy, at six years of age, did not have any decayed teeth. And today, at age fifteen, she still does not have any dental decay. Furthermore, she has healthy, resilient, firm gum tissue, supported by firm, dense bone, and beautiful skin as well. She fairly radiates health. You know, just by looking at this young lady, that she has that God-given health which is the rightful heritage of every child but which so few children possess, even though it is within the power of every mother to do for her child what Mrs. Bartholomew has done for Nancy.
Incidentally, Nancy did not have any serious childhood diseases. She recovered quickly from such illnesses as she did have. Consequently, she has no “scars,” in contrast to Joan, who had about everything in the book. So you see that dental decay is only a part of the whole syndrome of ill-health.
The Cost to the Patient
Now let us look at these dental health problems from a monetary standpoint. If you read the story of Joan, you will recall that for years her teeth decayed; she had constant dental care; and she was a problem child, difficult for her parents to bring up because she was always sickly. Joan was a highly nervous and therefore difficult dental patient, with hypersensitive teeth and rampant decay which was held in check only by rigid care and many dental restorations. Sure, she still has good-looking teeth, but her parents paid me a little over five hundred dollars in seventeen years. Joan is nineteen now. As you may recall, Joan eventually became health-conscious. Through new, rigid, daily, food habits, she was able to rebuild her health and her teeth from a soft, malacotic tooth structure, which was hypersensitive, to a sound, healthy sclerotic tooth structure, which is not the slightest bit sensitive.
Compare this with Nancy, whose total dental bills have been confined to dental prophylaxis, having her teeth cleaned by my dental hygienist, and bite wing X-rays to check up for cavities. Over a period of nine years Nancy’s total dental bills have been under fifty dollars, excluding orthodontia. Both Joan and Nancy had their teeth straightened.
A Note on Orthodontia Bands
Right here I should like to straighten out a prevalent idea, that orthodontia bands on teeth cause the teeth to decay. They do not. Decay occurs in the mouth of a patient only where the environment is favorable for the growth of those organisms which are always present when decay occurs; but, unless the soil is favorable, these organisms will not remain in the mouth. Of course, children who wear “bands” to have their teeth straightened, have more difficulty keeping their teeth clean, and these bands can harbor the wrong kinds of sticky food, thus encouraging decay. But–and this is most significant–if the food is not of the fermentable, carbohydrate, sugar character, the bands will not cause decay. I hope I have made that clear.
Well, to make a long story short, Nancy has done all her life the things Joan has been doing the last few years. Joan learned the hard, and expensive, way. It never was an effort for Nancy–she always had a good dietary. Simple isn’t it? And it pays off.
Some Suggestions
Here are a few suggestions: You, Doctor, keep a record for a week of everything you eat, and check up on yourself. Do that first. Then, have the next fifty patients who come to your office keep a record of everything they put into their mouths for a week. Check up on their records. Take a red pencil and underscore everything they are eating that makes no contribution to their dental health. You will be surprised at what you find.
Have your patients always end their meal with fruit, and watch the improvement in the whole mouth.
Nancy’s father was a runner, and later a track coach. He knows the value of a training table diet for athletes, and also knows the value of dietary in rearing a healthy child.
The next time you read about a Baby Beef 4-H contest, note how much the winner gets per pound for his baby beef. It pays to raise a champion. It is done very largely with good food, and this applies to children as well, Doctor–yours, mine and all children.