Sunday, July 15, 2012

1952 booklet: "What Your Family Should Know — ABOUT TEETH!"

Here's another volume from the Western Electric Booklet Rack Service For Employees.1

This one was published 60 years ago, in 1952, and is a 16-page guide titled "What Your Family Should Know — ABOUT TEETH!"2

It was produced by The Economics Press of Montclair, New Jersey, and features drawings by R. Roberts Baldwin.

Here are some of the toothy tips and tidbits from within the staplebound booklet:
  • "Good Teeth are like Great Men -- too often we don't appreciate them until after they are gone!"3
  • "The average 16-year-old has seven of his permanent teeth decayed, missing or filled." [I wonder how that compares with today.]
  • "An excellent practice is to keep a dish of attractively prepared raw vegetables handy in the refrigerator. Radishes, celery and carrots are the standard items. These can be easily slipped on the table at meal time and the children (and adults) encouraged to finish off their meals with a piece of raw vegetable."
  • "Some habitual pipe smokers wear regular 'pipe holes' in their teeth. If you smoke a pipe, don't chew on it and don't always hold it in the same spot in your jaw."
  • "Each member of the family should have at least two toothbrushes so that one can dry while the other is in use."
  • "At least one set of [tooth]brushes should be kept downstairs -- in the kitchen or downstairs lavatory. This makes cleaning the teeth directly after eating a practice in which the whole family will be more willing to cooperate."
  • "Your dentist may suggest occasional X-ray examinations of your teeth. This is completely painless and harmless and is the only way he can check the hidden surfaces between your teeth and under your gums. If your dentist believes that an X-ray examination is advisable, by all means cooperate."
  • "Proper care of your teeth is really not difficult; it's largely a matter of habit. Once you and your family have taken the trouble to form the right habits, the rest is easy. Good habits are just as automatic as bad. So -- why not start today? The time to appreciate good teeth is while you still have them."


Footnotes
1. Previous titles from this booklet series featured on Papergreat include:
2. Previous Papergreat posts dealing (sort of) with teeth include:
3. Hmm. I had not previously been familiar with that particular saying.

1 comment:

  1. I love that as I'm viewing this post, Google served me ads for "Fly to a Great Smile, Premium dental travel service. A trip to the dentist, only better", "Kool Smiles Dentistry", and "Kids Teeth Brushing Games" along with a hydromulching service and lawn mower repair. I wonder how Google's ad algorithm works to make such a connection. And for sure, I need some premium dental travel:)

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