WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR THE TEETH GUMS AND MOUTH

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Title: WHERE THERE IS NO DOCTOR THE TEETH GUMS AND MOUTH
extracted text: COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
47/1. (First Floor) St. Marks Road,

Bangalore - 560 001.

D-76

The Teeth,
Gums, and Mouth

This is a reprint from

Where 'There Is No Doctor
(Indian adaptation)

published by the

Voluntary Health Association of India
C-14 Community Centre
Safdarjung Development Area
New Delhi 110016

273
CHAPTER

17

The Teeth,
Gums, and Mouth

CARE OF THE TEETH AND GUMS
Taking good care of teeth and gums is important because:
■ Strong, healthy teeth are needed to chew and digest food well.
■ Painful cavities (holes in the teeth caused by decay) and sore gums can be
prevented by good tooth care.
■ Decayed or rotten teeth caused by lack of cleanliness can lead to serious
infections that may affect other parts of the body.

To keep the teeth and gums healthy:
1. Avoid sweets. Eating many sweets
(sugar cane, candy, pastry, tea or coffee
with sugar, soft or fizzy drinks like colas,
etc.) rots the teeth quickly.

"This child has
a sweet tooth—
but soon he’ll
have no more”
[no more teeth).

Do not accustom children to sweets or
soft drinks if you want them to have
good teeth.

2. Brush teeth well every day-and always brush immediately after eating any
thing sweet. Start brushing your children's teeth as the teeth appear. Later, teach
them to brush their teeth themselves, and watch to see that they do it right.
Brush the teeth
from top to bottom,
like this,
never from side
to side.
Brush the front,
back, top, and
bottom of all teeth.

3. Putting fluoride in the drinking water or directly on teeth helps prevent
cavities. Some health programs put fluoride on children's teeth once or twice a
year. Be sure your children have this done if they have the chance.

CAUTION: Fluoride is poisonous if more than a small amount is swallowed. Use
with care and keep it out of the reach of children.

274
4. Eat foods like amla. orange, lemon, guava, sprouted gram, tomato These
contain the vitamins which are necessary to keep the gums healthy. Ragi and bajra
contain calcium which makes teeth strong. If possible, include some milk in your
diet.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A TOOTHBRUSH:
Use a twig of a neem tree, like this:

Sharpen this end to clean
between the teeth.

Chew on this end and use
the fibers as a brush.

Or tie a piece of rough towel, around the end of a stick,
and use it as a toothbrush. .
piece of
rough towel

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE TOOTHPASTE:

Make a tooth powder by mixing salt and bicarbonate of soda in equal amounts.
To make it stick, wet the brush before putting it in the powder.

Salt with soda works as well as toothpaste for cleaning teeth. If you do not have
bicarbonate of soda, just use plain salt.
IF A TOOTH ALREADY HAS A CAVITY:

To keep it from hurting as much or forming an abscess, avoid
sweet things and brush well after every meal.
If possible, see a dental worker right away. If you go soon
enough, he can often clean and fill the tooth so it will last for many years.
When you have a tooth with a cavity, do not wait until it hurts a lot.
Have it filled by a dental worker right away.

275

TOOTHACHES AND ABSCESSES
To calm the pain:

♦ Clean the hole in the tooth wall,
removing all food particles. Then rinse
the mouth with warm salt water.
* Take a pain reliever like aspirin.
♦

Chewing cloves may help.

♦ If the tooth infection is severe (swelling,
pus, large tender lymph nodes), use an
antibiotic: tablets of penicillin (p. 397)
or sulfonamide (p.402), or tetracycline
capsules (p.400)'.

If the pain does not go away or keeps
coming back, the tooth should probably be
pulled.

A toothache results when a
caivity becomes infected.
An abscess results when the
infection reaches the tip of a
root and forms a pocket of pus.

Treat abscesses right away— before the
infection spreads to other parts of the body.

PYORRHEA, A DISEASE OF THE GUMS
Inflamed (red and swollen), painful
gums that bleed easily are caused by:

1. Not cleaning the teeth and gums
well or often enough.
2. Not eating enough nutritious foods
(malnutrition).
Prevention and treatment:

♦ Brush teeth well after each meal, removing food that sticks between the
• teeth. Also, if possible, scrape off the dark yellow crust (tartar) that forms
where the teeth meet the gums. Then rinse the mouth with warm salt water.
♦ Eat protective foods rich in vitamins, especially eggs, meat, beans, dark green
vegetables, and fruits like oranges, lemons, and tomatoes (see Chapter 11).
Avoid sweet, sticky, and stringy foods that get stuck between the teeth.

Note: Sometimes medicines for fits (epilepsy) cause swelling and unhealthy
growth of the gums (see p.422). If this happens, consult a health worker and
consider using a different medicine.

276

SORES OR CRACKS AT THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH
Narrow sores at the corners of
children's mouths are often a sign
of malnutrition.

Children with these sores should
eat foods rich in vitamins and
proteins: like milk, meat, fish, nuts,
eggs, fruits, and green vegetables.

WHITE PATCHES OR SPOTS IN THE MOUTH
The tongue is coated with white 'fur'. Many
illnesses cause a white or yellowish coating on
the tongue and roof of the mouth. This is
common when there is a fever. Although this
coating is not serious, it helps to rinse the mouth
with a solution of warm water with salt and
bicarbonate of soda several times a day.

Thrush: small white patches on the inside of
the mouth and tongue that look like milk curds
stuck to raw meat. They are caused by a fungus
or yeast infection called moniliasis (see p. 286).
Thrush is common in newborn babies and in
persons using certain antibiotics, especially
tetracycline or ampicillin-.

Unless it is very important to keep taking the
antibiotic, stop taking it. Paint the inside of the
mouth with gentian violet. Chewing garlic or
eating yogurt may also help. In severe cases,
use nystatin (p. 408).
Cold sores: small, white, painful spots on or
inside the lips and mouth. They often appear
when a person has a cold or fever. They last for
a few days and go away by themselves.

Rinse the mouth with salt water or put a little
hydrogen peroxide or cortico-steroid ointment
(p. 409) on the sores. Antibiotics do not help.
CancenChronic sores on the tongue or inside the mouth which do not heal with
simple treatment or with nutritious foods may be signs of cancer. These are
especially common in people who chew betel leaves, pan with tobacco. In such
cases consult a health worker.

The book Where There Is No Doctor is available
at Rs 29/- plus postage. Multiple copies of reprints
of various chapters are also available.

Please write to:
Publications Officer
Voluntary Health Association of India
C-14 Community Centre
Safdarjung Development Area
New Delhi 110016

Rs.

0.50

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