Arkansas State Press

By E. UPSHUR, D. D. S., Raines Building, Little Rock

"TOOTHACHE A LUXURY"

"Mouse, mouse, come out and give me your iron tooth and I will give you my bone tooth."

This was a prayer addressed to the mouse by primitive man for relief of toothache. Ignorance of the cause of pain and sickness in those early days lead to the practice of magic, charm, and animal worship, because pain was thought to be a visit from an evil spirit.

In those days there were hopes and aims of preventing toothache."—to be free from toothache,—eat a whole mouse twice a month."

Toothache could not be prevented in those early days, but today, when the possibility of prevention is easy, many people look upon it as inescapable as death.

In this modern age of atomic energy and highly specified living, nobody thinks of their teeth until they feel the excruciating pain of toothache. If toothache was only pain, its prevention would not be so important. But, when you realize toothache is a symptom of disease, the urgent necessity of its prevention can be appreciated.

Dental decay, caries, cavities or hollows, which leads to toothache is so common that even doctors often fail to think of it as disease. Toothache is a disease because it destroys the tooth, a part of body. The most common characteristic of all disease is the destruction of the body parts. An example of this is Tuberculosis which attacks—making cavities or hollows, and finally destroy the lungs. Destruction of the body by disease is progressive, and no matter where it begins, it can cause sufficient destruction to produce death.

Dental disease begins on the hard, outer surface of the tooth. Decay spreads rapidly here, and the first symptoms of disease appear—momentary pain when eating sweets. But, the pain is slight until it reaches the softest part of the tooth containing the blood vessels and nerves. Now comes the excruciating pain of toothache. Bacteria and infection pass from the mouth through the tooth, in the jawbone, and all over the body in the blood circulating from the diseased tooth.

Toothache can be prevented by the early detection of dental decay and filling of the tooth before the disease reaches the pulp (nerve) of the tooth. You may not notice dental disease until the tooth is practically destroyed by decay (a large hollow). However, the dentist can locate dental disease early by oral examination, including the x-ray which sees disease that the eye can not see. Periodic dental examinations is a preventive measure, which does not increase the cost of dental care. It is best to pay small amounts for preventing toothache than to pay large dental and medical bills resulting from a toothache.

Toothache is a luxury that we can ill afford plus a risk to our health.