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attacked by caries ; or, if previously carious, that this should
proceed with redoubled violence. Hence we understand
why persons possessing a sickly and irritable state of their
systems should be extremely liable to caries of their teeth.f
I will not deny that many persons possessing good constitu-
tions have bad teeth ; yet in these cases we shall find some-
of our before-mentioned causes acting locally upon the teeth
and causing their destruction. On the other hand we some-
times notice persons having sickly constitutions, whose teeth
are good, in these cases we shall find some of the exciting
causes obviated, and the disease prevented. Exceptioprobat
Regulam. Caries itself, once commenced, is to a certain
extent contagious, and proves a powerful excitant of caries.
Upon our foregoing principles, we immediately learn why
frequent attacks by acute or chronic febrile diseases, ren-
der the teeth liable to be affected by caries, and why fre-
quent salivations, by inducing a general or local inflammatory
state of the system, or of the mouth, and by vitiating the
On
secretions of every part, are so apt to induce caries.
the contrary, we learn why a good constitution, with a per-
fect organization and developement ofevery part, why a plain,
simple, and wholesome diet, free exercise in the open air,
and an absence of febrile diseases, &c. &c. conduce so
powerfully to render the teeth free from caries, and place
the mouth in a healty state. The child of our luxurious citi-
zens, may have bad teeth, yet it is not so with the chimney-
sweepers' child who rarely tastes of any thing beyond a
piece of bread, and whose clean and shining white teeth,
form a striking contrast with his sooty face ; and what con-
firms our doctrine to its fullest extent, is that coloured chil-
dren, placed in the houses of the luxurious citizens, and living

fSee Koecker, page 53, and following.