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Concluding Observations. 199
to be done for his welfare, should be neglected. If flattery,
presents, and lastly threats do not induce submission, compul-
sion is the only alternative : he should have one sympathy,
and that sympathy should induce us to enforce what is so ne-
cessary to his future welfare, and he will be grateful for it,
when he shall have grown to years of discretion.
Second— The trouble of keeping the teeth clean and fret of
foreign matter. Fie ! how much trouble to wash our hands,
clip our beards, and put up our curls. Not wash the mouth !
What pa;t of the frame would delicacy of feeling prompt us
to keep more cleanly ? What is there more disgusting than a
foul mouth, or an offensive breath ?
Third—The dread of the pain of dental operation for the
cure of the diseases of the teeth. There are many persons,
especially ladies, who will neglect to have the above operations
performed, till the agonies of tooth ache compel them to seek
relief, when perhaps disease has made such sad ravages, that
little can be done ; they have got the idea, that operations on
the teeth are dreadfully painful —they shrink with horror
;
at the thought—the tales of those who have experienced them,
(for thev exaggerate in a tenfold degree,) tend rather to confirm,
than remove their apprehensions. Opinions on this head are
so erroneous, so prevalent, and so productive of misfortune, that
we must beg the indulgence of the reader for a moment. We
have often found the greatest difficulty, notwithstanding the
most candid assurances, in removing the alarm and dread of
individuals, where there was no occasion for the least appre-
hension. Here is the truth, as to the real pain of dental
operations for the cure of decay: if they be early performed
they cost the patient little or no pain — put them off* till com-
pelled to have recourse to them, and they are often very pain-
ful ; some suffer much more than others on account of the
difference in the sensibility of the teeth. Finally, many per-
sons suffer far more from the dread of dental operations, than
from the actual pain of them. Why put off the operations
necessary for the cure of decay ? Is pain the reason ? You