Dental Lymph

The normal human tooth consists of a very hard outer casing, enamel where it projects beyond the gum, cementum (bone) inside the gum line; a less hard inner body of dentin (ivory); and at the core a soft pulp which contains an exquisitely sensitive nerve. Practically all dentists treat the hard enamel and dentin as though they are dead substances.

Still curious about teeth although he has filled them for 40 years, Columbia University's Professor Charles Francis Bodecker proved what few other dentists suspected--that the multitude of very fine passages in the hard dentin and enamel are filled with a fluid which he named "dental lymph."

Dental lymph, he told the New York State Dental Society at Syracuse last week, apparently nourishes teeth, keeps them supplied with the mineral salts which make them hard and impervious to bacteria and bits of food which cause decay. Malnutrition is one of the factors which disturbs this protective activity of the dental lymph. Therefore, to keep teeth sound, general good health is as important as brushing the teeth. But especially if health is below par, then it is very important to keep mouth and teeth clean.

For developing this clear-cut picture of tooth histology and thus reconciling some of the diverse explanations of tooth decay, the New York State Dental Society last week gave inquisitive Dentist Bodecker a gold medal.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.