NASHVILLE 
JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. 
SECOND SERIES. 
Vol. XXXIV. NASHVILLE, TENN., JULY, 1884. No. 1. 
Criminal Communications. 
HOW TO SECURE GOOD DENTAL ORGANS—PRE- 
VENT THEIR DECAY—PREVENT RICKETS, 
HIP DISEASES, ETC., ETC. 
H. E. DENNETT, D. D. S., BOSTON, MASS. 
In the discharge of their duties, the physicians and dentists 
are daily asked by their patients, “What must I do to prevent 
my teeth from decaying?” 
The answer should be, “Correct your diet.” That is, eat such 
food, and only such as contains all of its natural elements. If 
we eat the products of grain we must eat them with all their 
elements as furnished by nature. If we eat meat, we must also 
eat bones, or our systems will suffer from a violation of one of 290 
Original Communication«. 
natures unerring laws. It is conceded that dental decay is the 
dissolving away of the lime salts by vitiated secretions. This is 
not due so much to a want of cleanliness of the mouth as is com- 
monly supposed; for it is not true that “A clean tooth never de- 
cays.” One may devote twelve hours out of the twenty-four to 
the ablution of the mouth, and fail to prevent decay of the teeth 
so long as natures dietic laws are violated. 
Dental development in man is discernible as early as the seventh 
week of intra-uterine life; hence the importance of a strictly 
correct diet from the start, if mothers wish to give birth to chil- 
dren who may have perfectly formed teeth, and perfect health 
includes a perfect set of teeth; for they are little indicators, de- 
noting by their condition that of the whole system, just as a ther- 
mometer indicates thermal changes. A mother who passes throuh 
the periods of gestation and lactation without a sufficient supply 
of bone and tooth material in her food will suffer from loss of 
teeth, neuralgia, rheumatism and other diseases that result from 
an impoverished state of the system. The lime from her teeth 
will be dissolved, taken into the circulation, and appropriated by 
the offspring. Excepting civilized man, nil flesh-eating animals 
eat as much ot the bone with the flesh they devour as they can 
break with their teeth sufficiently fine to swallow. 
Place before a tribe of Indians everything the earth produces 
in the shape of food, and they will eat only animal food so long 
as that lasts; but put them upon a Reservation and feed them as 
civilized people fefifl themselves, and decay of the teeth soon fol- 
lows. Take from any carnivorous animals their supply of bone 
which nature furnishes with the flesh, and decay ot the teeth is 
sure to follow. Several years ago, the lions in the Zoological 
Gardens of London were fed upon the thighs of horses. These 
being large and hard they were unable to break and eat, and as 
a consequence, thpir young were born with cleft palates and died 
shortly after birth. They were afterwards fed upflm deer and 
other small animals, and their young were born with perfectly 
formed palates and lived. 
Veterinary surgeons have long known that certain diseases of 
their dumb animals can only be successfully treated by feeding Original Communications. 
291 
them with bone meal. A dam, too aristocratic to gnaw bones, 
gave birth to successive litters of rickety pups. After being 
fed with food containing bone meal she produced perfectly healthy 
ones by the same sire. Even our domestic herbivorous animals 
thrive better when bone is added to their bill of fare. The cow 
which every year gives birth to young has an excessive drain 
upon her supply of bone material, and craves bones to such an 
extent that she will try to masticate even very large ones, as 
every farmer’s boy can testify. Arguments in favor of eating 
bone to prevent decay of the teeth as well as to cure a long cata- 
logue of bone and kindred diseases, might be continued indefi- 
nitely, but as “ a word to the wise is sufficient,” it seems only 
necessary to add that a long and continued experiment has been 
made upon a family with results that fully justify all claims made 
for it. The bones were selected from perfectly healthy animals, 
none being used that bore the slightest blemish, carefully cured 
without being allowed to pass through any perceptible chemical 
changes, finely granulated, and incorporated into soup, gravy, 
bread, etc., in the proportion of from one to three spoonfuls to 
each pint of soup, gravy, or flour. The relative proportion of 
nutritive elements in one hundred parts of different kinds of 
animal food has been found as follows: 
Beef 
26. 
Mutton 
29. 
Chicken 
27. 
Pork 
24. 
Brain 
20. 
Blood 
21. 
Codfish 
21. 
White of Egg 
14. 
Milk 
7. 
Bone 
51. 
DYSPEPSIA. 
BY A. F. BINKLEY, M. D., SYCAMORE. 
Mrs. C—aged 45, had been treated for some length of time 
tor neuralgia of the stomach and torpidity of the liver, with no 
good results. When I examined her in May 1 found some sore- 
ness and tenderness over the region of the liver, rather sallow 292 
Original Communications. 
complexion, with some pain and uneasiness about the stomach, 
ulcerated condition of the throat and mouth, (this ulcerated con- 
dition she remarked was only at times when she was the worst 
off,) her bowels were always costive unless she was taking some- 
thing to remedy it, she suffered a great deal with headache, and 
a great many other troubles, too tedious to enumerate, though 
one that might be mentioned was a desponding low-spirited con- 
dition, with an occasional burning sensation of the skin or hot 
flashes as she termed it. I diagnosed her case atonic dyspepsia, 
and accordingly put her on the following: ,, 
Hydrastis • 2 gr. 
Ipecac pulv 1 gr. 
S. To be taken three times per day, sometimes made into pill 
and sometimes she would take it in a little water. I also re- 
quested her to take: 
Hydrargyri clilor. mit 3 gr. 
Podophylin \ gr. 
S.. Once a week for three or four weeks. 
Although some other nearly insignificant correctives were used, 
I attribute her recovery which was complete in two months to 
the hydrastis and ipecac. Now I regard ipecac a very important 
factor in the treatment of a great many cases of dyspepsia. For 
it not only increases the peristaltic action of the alimentary or 
digestive tract, but also is a good persuader for a torpid liver, 
when its use is persisted in for some time. 
TYPHOID FEVER—MAPLE HILL SEMINARY—LEB 
ANON, TENNESSEE*. 
JAMES L. FITE, M. D., LEBANON, TENN. 
To the Tennessee State Board of Health: Gentlemen—In 
obedience to a resolution of this Board at the January meeting, 
I visited Lebanon, January 5th, 6th and 7th, and in company 
*Read before the Tennessee State Board of Health,