Excerpt from Diseases Incident to the First Dentition

The period during which the teeth and surrounding tissues are under going those changes which precede and accompany the eruption of the former being one of augmented nerve-vascular action, there is then a more than usual liability to disturbance of harmony, and consequently a predisposition to functional derangement. It is analogous in this respect to other so-called critical periods, such as utero - gestation or the establishment and cessation of the menstrual function, which, though purely physiological processes, are subject to deflections which not infre quently place them within the domain of pathology. At each of these periods, but especially during the eruption of the teeth, the brain and nervous system, the stomach and intestinal tract, the circulatory and respiratory systems, show an increased though varying liability to irritation.

Coincident with the development of the masticatory apparatus other important changes are taking place in the organization of the child, notably in the stomach and intestinal tract, preparing these for the reception and digestion of solid food. These concurrent changes, while exercising their full share in the production of constitutional disturb auces at this period, increase also the nervous impressibility of the child, and thus lessen its ability to resist other perturbative influences. The natural vigor of the child, the state of its general health, and the conditions by which it is surrounded exert an influence in preventing or promoting aberrations in dental evolution. Improper clothing, atmo spheric variations, intense or prolonged heat, cold or dampness, mias mata, the exanthemata, indigestion, excitement of the nervous system by fright or anger - anything which, causing a modification in the nor mal standard of healthy life, reduces the resisting power of the organism, may find pronounced expression in a disturbance of the otherwise physi ological process of dentition.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.