Show Daily Health Heal th Service Teeth Suffer From Fro Acid Diet Testa Show By D DR MORRIS FISHBEIN EIN Editor Journal of ot the Am American Medical Med Mcd- ical leal A Association and of the Health Magazine Conditions of ot diet and nutrition vary throughout the world In different differ differ- ent eat nations Hence careful studies of such diets In la relation to the development develop develop- ment meat of the teeth afford interesting information as to the factors responsible ble for den dental l decay In Hawaii fruits vegetables and fresh seafood are arc to be had in abundance abundance abundance dance at all an season of the year ear The population includes representatives of ot all the human races living in groups in close proximity and yet maintaining maintain maintain- ing tog racial customs and food habits Advantage was taken of this opportunity opportunity opportunity for a comparative study of oC teeth by Drs Martha R. R Jones Nils P Larsen and George P P. P Pritchard who made some extremely interesting observations They examined 1761 preschool children and found decay of the teeth In tn some of them of special cial type or Of Ot all the children examined between 50 and 75 per cent at various ages up to 6 years rears had this condition In Iii these children the enamel was soft In texture and easily scratched The teeth that were partially were found to have an e extraordinary ex cx- large Irge amount of cement ce cc- meat ment substance in the enamel The cause of these changes in the teeth was vas not apparent since the children were not subject to malnutrition tion most of them had fed at the breast and most of or them had lived all their lives in a sun flooded environment In further prosecution of ot the attempt attempt at at- tempt to find out why the teeth of Ithe the children had thus disintegrated the observers found that the diets of or children 3 years of or age or older which contained fruits and vegetables vegetables vegetables bles in amounts sufficient to produce an alkaline reaction in the ash were inva invariably associated with sound enamel or arrested decay regardless of ot how the diet was otherwise con con- On the other hand active decay was always associated with diets which contained acid elements clements In let ex- ex cess The giving of various amounts of or vitamins calcium and phosphorus failed tailed to retard the disintegration of oC the teeth They were convinced that nn any type of diet or any factor or combination of factors which tended to decrease the amount of alkalinity in the tissue fluids and oral secretions proportion proportion- increased the I liability of ot enamel to decay Investigators have learned t th thi 1 is not possible to pin on any anyone one factor in the diet to for lor of the extraordinary disturb that may take lake place in the h hu hS body lOa lOaThe The studies made in Hawaii tt also the necessity for tj the body n a suitable alkaline mi react There is also nho involved the suitable use of the teeth in che food y |