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160 Importance of the Teeth — ;
organ, ('a pair of patent nut crackers :') in short, every pari
of the face is deformed, and presents the anticipated sight of
painful destruction." Gerbeaux, page 31;
The teeth are essential to personal appearance or beauty.*
;: Without its aid how hard were woman's
lot,
To die neglected, and to sigh forgot."
*_" The teeth are the greatest ornament of the human countenance
J
their regularity, their whiteness constitute their beauty.: these qualities
please the sight, and add new attractions to the face. Should the mouth
exceed in magnitude its common size) a fine set of teeth will disguise
the defective conformation, and frequently such is the prepossession
which results from a fine set of teeth, that the same mouth would appear
defective if it were smaller. Were you to see a woman laugh, whose
\»-ide mouth discovers thirty-two dazzling pearls, you would feel no
temptation to scrutinize the extent of the diameter of her mouth; your
whole attention will be directed towards the beauty of her teeth, and the
graceful smile that exhibits them. This ornament is equally becoming
to both sexes; it attracts attention when found in man, and spreads a
kind of amiableness over his countenance, by softening his features
:
those of the black African cease to frighten the timid beauty when he
displays his dazzling white teeth. But it is chiefly to women that fine
teeth are necessary, since they are intended to please our eyes, prior to
captivating our hearts. What justifies the pre-eminence I give to the
teeth over the charms of the face, is the influence which they exercise
over beauty : let a female be possessed of fine eyes', a pretty mouth, a
fretty nose, a fine forehead, beautiful hair, and a charming complexion
if she has ugly teeth, vitiated, broken, covered over with thick fur, or
with a slimy covering, if, in short, they send forth a corrupt smell,
(which her neighbors find out before she does herself,) she cannot be
thought handsome from the moment she opens her mouth ; she herself,
conscious of the sad effect of her smiles, acts with constraint, and has
recourse to giimace, with a view of concealing the injury which her
teeth have endured. If, on the contrary, she should have a large nose,
small eyes, if even she were ugly, provided her teeth be regularly plac-
ed, that they be white, and especially that she retains her full number,
or at least all that can be seen ; unless, indeed, that Woman was a true
fripjh', her face will appear agreeable as soon as a smile comes to her
assistance ; and you will hear the observations so consoling to her vani-
ty : "she has fine teeth," "beautiful teeth," "splendid teeth." Ger-
beaux. Dictionnaire des sciences Medicates par M. Fournier.
There are different opinions among nations as to what constitutes beau-
tiful teeth. Civilized nations consider sound, well formed, regular and
while teeth, the most beautiful. There are savage or barbarous nations
who entertain a different opinion, and have various fancies about their
teeth ; some think they cannot be too black to be beautiful. The married
women of Java dye their teeth black, which is supposed to be a mark
ef distinction. The women of the Marian Islands also blacken their
teeth. The inhabitants of Sumatra and Malacca have the same custom ;