University of the Pacific School of Dentistry - Chips Yearbook (San Francisco, CA)

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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PIECE OF GOLD. By Mary Reynolds. CAge 11 Yearsj I was once happy and free, away down in the black earth. One day I was taken away from my companions and placed in a pan with dirt and rocks. Soon I was covered with water, and then shook to and fro till my poor head ached. I was then taken out of the pan with some dirty fingers and turned over and over, and then placed carefully in the pan again. The pan was carried up to a house and I heard a little voice cry, Oh! Oh! Look what papa has. Then I heard a clatter of tiny feet and I was jostled a little, because one of the youngsters had pulled on the person's arm whom they called papa. I was then put into a little glass vial and placed in papa's pocket. Then I was taken on a long journey to the goldsmith. How lonely I was, so far from my comrades, way down in the earth. True, I had often been lonely there, for I had never appreciated home hospitality. Now, however, I would have given anything to have been back in my old home. At the end of the journey I felt myself taken out of the dark, deep pocket and placed in the goldsmith's hand. After a while I found myself in a large iron kettle full of other gold. I soon began to feel exceedingly hot, and then I melted away. After a while the goldsmith took me out of the pot and made me in the shape of a ring. He placed a glittering diamond on my head and then put me in the window for people to look at. At last I was taken out of the window and an old man with a white beard bought me, saying he wanted to give me to his granddaughter for a birthday present. I was placed in a pretty box filled with soft totton. One morning the old man gave me to his granddaughter. I heard her say, Oh, grandpa, it's so pretty, thank you, ever and ever so much ! This made me feel proud because she said I was pretty. One day I dropped from her finger under some boards. There I lay day after day. VVould no one pick me up? Yes, in- deed. One day while I was dreaming of bygone days the boards were taken up and I was picked up hastily. I heard a little scream, Oh! Oh! Effie, come hereg look what I found! I was regarded curiously for two or three minutes. Oh, Long it's a ring! An' Effie, see the pretty diamond ! Oh, but Lou, we can't let father see it or he would pawn it so he could buy beer. Hu, huh, weill have to hide it. I was 'then tucked lovingly away in Lou's bosom. I next found myself in a dark, cold dreary attic. The little girls were looking at me in one of the dark corners. From there I could see all around. Near me were some old clothes. On 36

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Toothache and the loosening of the teeth during gestation is an every day observation and has given rise to a popular adage - For every child a tooth. In the affections of the teeth and gingivae at this stage, various forms have to be distinguished, i. e., notable sensitiveness of teeth, odontalgia, without apparent causesg loosening of teeth with hyperemia and hypertrophy of the gingivae, brittleness of teeth, and caries of the teeth which is usually of progressive character. These symptoms appear generally in the third and fourth months. The causation of these symptoms seems to be more from a topic reflex from the geni- talia than from disturbances of the circulatory system. Vomit- ing during gestation is commonly caused by an acid saliva which is contaminated by putrifactive bacteria. Postponement of treat- ment until after delivery is to be strongly condemned. During the third, eighth and ninth months dental operations should be avoided if possible as abortion is most likely to take place at that time. There is no possible danger otherwise, providing the oper- ation is performed without undue pain. Novocain may be used as a local and ether Cor nitrous oxide with oxygenj as a general anaesthetic in those conditions. Uric acid ailments are next in order. Gouty diathesis, rheu- matism and pyorrhea alveolaris, all caused by an excessive de- posit of uric acid in the body. Local conditions as unsanitary and ill-adjusted bridges and crowns, old roots, etc., all tend to aggravate pyorrhea. The treatment for pyorrhea should be both constitutional and local. The last subject to be taken up is children's mortality. The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce and Labor at Wasliington, D. C., has recently presented some interesting in- formation on the mortality of children which should receive the consideration not only of sanitarians in general, but especially those concerned with the hygiene of the mouth. The death rate of tuberculosis decreased from 173.9 in 1908 to 167.5 per one thousand in 1909, it being the lowest rate on record. Mortality of pneumonia and influenza has also decreased. In the estimated population of the United States it showed that 26.8 per cent were children under five years of age and that 19.1 per cent were infants under one. The above decrease is no doubt a result of the recent hygi- enic movements. The human mouth is a habitat and breeding ground of many bacteria which are the causes of definite pathol- ogical conditions. Mortality will still further decrease when those in charge of the little patients are made to clearly under- estand the relationship between infantile disorders and difficult dentition, and relieve the distress by the skillful use of the life- saving lance. It is in the foregoing aspects of the question that both mem- bers of the medical profession should fully awake and co-operate in reducing the rate of mortality in our country. ' 35

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them lay a woman poorly clad, who, I suppose, was the mother of Lou and Effie. Over in a corner was an old, broken-down stove. It had no fire in it. Near. it was a stand with a cup and saucer upon it. The cup had a large niche in it, as though one of the children had at 'one time been ravishly hungry. The things mentioned and an old box was all that occupied the room. Suddenly the door opened and was closed with a bang. The person disclosed was a large, heavily-built man with a black mus- tache and sneaky eyes. I was quickly banished from sight in Lou's hair. Hey there: what you got there, hand it over Lou, hand it over. I'm suffering fer a drink, a voice said gruffly, as the man strode over to Lou. Oh, papa, please don't make me give it to you. I only got just one of 'em. Here there, hand it over, Lou, you can't get out of itg hand it over, I tell you, hand it over, he said again. I began to shiver with fright, what was going to happen to me. Lou began to tremble, too. I could hold on to her hair no longer, and I dropped to the floor. Ah, ah, so that's what you kids has, is it? Where did you get it, anyhow? Without waiting for an answer, he put me in his pocket, and with a gruff word to his wife, he strode out of the room. I-le took me to at pawn shop and sold me. Again I was put in a large window for men, women and children to stare at and comment about. , One day I was taken out of the window and sold to a pretty young girl, who gave the man a beautiful dress in exchange. The young girl placed me on one of her fingers and then she went to see a dentist, for she had a toothache. XfVhen we arrived at the dentist's, I began to feel nervous, for it seemed as though some of my comrades were nearer to me than they had been since we left our home in the ground. The dentist worked very hard on the offending tooth and pretty soon he took a little bottle from a drawer and opened it, and put a lot of small yellow balls on a little pan over a fire and soon I heard voices call out, as if in pain, and I recognized them as the voices of my comrades. Then the dentist took them one by one and put them in the hole in the pretty girl's tooth, and when he finished his task and my comrades were polished and shone very brightly, the girl went to her home. That night I asked my comrades what had become of them since we left our home in the earth, and this is what they told me: We were shaken up in a pan with a lot of dirty rocks and water, then we were picked out and taken to a cellar, where we were put in a fire and the pain we had to suffer made us all try to comfort one another. We were now poured into a box of charcoal and we grew very cool once more and when 'ave were taken out we found that we were brighter than before we had 37