WEBVTT 1 00:00:34.900 --> 00:00:41.820 In the typical American community of Altoona, Pennsylvania, lives and works an interesting man. 2 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:50.200 He is Dr. Fred D. Miller, a dentist. The interesting thing is that the people in his practice are different in one respect. 3 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:55.860 They enjoy unusually good dental health as a group, way above average. 4 00:00:55.860 --> 00:00:59.860 They are people you would like to know, so we want you to meet them. 5 00:01:01.860 --> 00:01:06.500 Mrs. Jones, this is Dr. Miller. Billy is on his way home now. 6 00:01:07.100 --> 00:01:12.380 Yes, everything was fine. His teeth and gums are in fine condition, strong and healthy as can be. 7 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:17.860 I'm proud of that boy. This is the third time he's had his teeth cleaned and no other work was needed. 8 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.520 I wish I could have grown up with the teeth and health he has. 9 00:01:22.520 --> 00:01:28.100 Oh yes, in fact I was a bad dental cripple before I finished school 40 years ago. 10 00:01:28.800 --> 00:01:32.380 And I found out the hard way that it was all a preventable tragedy. 11 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:35.140 It just didn't have to happen at all. 12 00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:45.060 That's why I have concentrated all these years on learning and helping others to learn how to prevent bad teeth, how to keep them sound and healthy. 13 00:01:45.880 --> 00:01:49.500 And not only healthy teeth, but a completely healthy body. 14 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:53.920 Thank you Mrs. Jones and thank you for your cooperation. 15 00:01:54.860 --> 00:01:59.360 With that kind of help, the secret of health is very simple. Goodbye. 16 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:05.980 Would you like to know the secret too? 17 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.900 Actually of course, it's no secret. It's just something waiting for people to learn. 18 00:02:12.940 --> 00:02:16.300 No, there isn't any hocus pocus about it. No magic. 19 00:02:16.300 --> 00:02:20.380 It doesn't hurt, but you have to put your mind to it. 20 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:28.360 If you do, then you may have teeth like these. Here are twin, not a bit of tooth decay in their mouth. 21 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:32.220 This girl didn't have a good start by any means. 22 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:38.480 At the age of six, she had horrible baby teeth. She was a nervous, frightened child. 23 00:02:38.980 --> 00:02:43.220 But she and her parents learned about good dental health and they stuck to it. 24 00:02:44.140 --> 00:02:51.060 Today she is a healthy, active young lady. She has healthy bone and gums and beautiful permanent teeth. 25 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:55.120 Her mouth looks just as good as the mouths of other patients of mine. 26 00:02:55.580 --> 00:02:58.000 Patients who got off to a much better start. 27 00:02:58.600 --> 00:03:02.720 These youngsters, all in one family, are as healthy as can be. 28 00:03:05.460 --> 00:03:11.580 These fine teeth belong to some of those who came to the office one day to have their pictures taken. 29 00:03:13.380 --> 00:03:22.440 There were 32 young people all between the ages of five and 28, and they all had perfect teeth without a single cavity. 30 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:31.560 We've made wonderful improvements in the control of many diseases. 31 00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:35.940 We proudly believe we are becoming healthier and healthier. 32 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:40.640 But we've become worse and worse in dental disease. 33 00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:47.400 Do you realize that? Why dental decay is occurring six times as fast as we dentists can repair the damage. 34 00:03:48.320 --> 00:03:54.120 This can't be corrected by doing any one thing, like being vaccinated against a germ disease. 35 00:03:54.260 --> 00:03:59.720 What we eat and when we eat it is a great thing we have been neglecting in the care of our teeth. 36 00:04:00.100 --> 00:04:05.200 This is the chief difference between the splendid examples I've been showing you from my own practice 37 00:04:05.200 --> 00:04:09.660 and the bad examples, the dental cripples we rounded up to show you here. 38 00:04:09.660 --> 00:04:14.520 Each of the youngsters with bad mouths is actually suffering from starvation. 39 00:04:15.260 --> 00:04:22.240 No, not because they couldn't get enough to eat, but because they and their parents didn't realize the importance of what they eat. 40 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:27.260 They drink sweet drinks at all hours, they eat candy and other sweets before meals. 41 00:04:27.660 --> 00:04:30.900 This spoils their appetite for the things the body requires. 42 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:34.560 It crowds out of the diet the things that must come first. 43 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.960 So they begin to be starved, literally starved. 44 00:04:37.960 --> 00:04:42.620 This is something that sneaked up on us while we weren't looking. 45 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:47.840 Why, it's hard to find a child in school who doesn't have tooth decay. 46 00:04:48.400 --> 00:04:52.720 By the age of 16, the average person has more than 10 cavities. 47 00:04:53.340 --> 00:04:54.320 What about you? 48 00:04:55.540 --> 00:05:00.800 Dental science has a great deal yet to learn about the causes of tooth decay. 49 00:05:01.240 --> 00:05:06.960 But this we do know. Tooth decay in the amounts we now suffer is not a natural condition. 50 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:12.060 Let's look around us then and see whether nature has something to tell us. 51 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:16.480 Rarely does a land animal lose a tooth through decay. 52 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.640 Animals by their nature live in particular places. 53 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:26.780 Cows and horses in fields, lions in jungles. 54 00:05:27.560 --> 00:05:31.020 And by this means their choice of food is determined for them. 55 00:05:32.260 --> 00:05:34.600 The selection has become a natural instinct. 56 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:40.520 They eat what they find where they live and find a balanced diet naturally. 57 00:05:41.460 --> 00:05:45.300 The shape of the jaws and the arrangement of the teeth of different animals 58 00:05:45.300 --> 00:05:49.240 can show us quite a lot about how they live and how they eat. 59 00:05:49.960 --> 00:05:53.340 A horse eats vegetation, but he picks it up from the ground. 60 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:55.720 He eats different kinds of grasses. 61 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:59.220 He too swings his jaw from side to side when he chews. 62 00:05:59.740 --> 00:06:00.860 But look at his teeth. 63 00:06:03.800 --> 00:06:06.060 Lions and tigers eat meat. 64 00:06:07.080 --> 00:06:10.740 They don't chew their food, but they do bite it and tear it. 65 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:15.020 A leopard's jaws are very much like the jaws of a lion or a tiger. 66 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:21.040 In front, he has sharp, pointed teeth for tearing his meat. 67 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:25.560 His back teeth are sharp blades. 68 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:35.100 The two commonest animals that eat both meat and vegetation are pigs and people. 69 00:06:36.900 --> 00:06:39.880 And sometimes they don't look so much different when they're eating either. 70 00:06:45.380 --> 00:06:49.920 The teeth of the human are less differentiated than those of the browsing animals. 71 00:06:50.660 --> 00:06:52.660 The front teeth are cutting teeth. 72 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.380 The back teeth are flattened for grinding. 73 00:06:56.280 --> 00:07:01.380 We've had to become able to eat a very large variety of foods wherever we might be. 74 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:06.820 Would you like to see how the action of the jaws and the teeth would look if you had x-ray eyes? 75 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:10.660 An x-ray camera sees this. 76 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:16.680 Many of our foods cling and stick on the teeth like this. 77 00:07:19.440 --> 00:07:24.360 As we'll see, some of our other foods naturally help us take care of this. 78 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:35.100 Human beings are different from other animals because we are thinking animals, but because humans can think, 79 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:41.140 we must therefore think carefully about selecting the foods that will give us the properly balanced diet. 80 00:07:41.140 --> 00:07:47.600 We've had to become able to eat a very large variety of food that might be found wherever we might be. 81 00:07:49.900 --> 00:07:55.040 Everyone knows that the bloodstream supplies the different parts of the body and keeps them alive and healthy. 82 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:58.020 The bloodstream feeds the teeth too. 83 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:05.120 Here in this diagram you can see where the blood vessels and nerves enter the tooth and go into the pulp chamber. 84 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:13.740 Through these little tube-like openings in what we call the dentine, a strong bony-like material that is the main part of the tooth, 85 00:08:14.340 --> 00:08:20.040 and here forming the surface we see is the enamel, the hardest substance in your body. 86 00:08:21.720 --> 00:08:28.040 Whether you remember these names or not, remember that the tooth is alive, so don't wait for a toothache to remind you of it. 87 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:34.840 It's alive and must constantly be nourished, and the enamel, hard though it is, is the place where the cavities start. 88 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:43.380 Once the enamel is damaged by a cavity and is lost forever, it will never grow together again, as a cut on your finger does. 89 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.200 You have to go to the dentist to get it filled. 90 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.520 Now here is a slice of the tooth mounted in clear plastic. 91 00:08:51.540 --> 00:08:59.580 We wanted to see if we could take a picture of a cavity forming, so we went to John Ott, who is a specialist in this kind of photography. 92 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:06.500 Time-lapse motion picture photography makes it possible to increase greatly the speed of action. 93 00:09:08.560 --> 00:09:13.780 Here is a flower growing, pictured at a speed several thousand times faster than normal. 94 00:09:14.680 --> 00:09:18.920 Our special camera apparatus is doing the same thing as it watches our tooth. 95 00:09:21.060 --> 00:09:29.460 A tooth with no decay. It is encased in plastic, except for one small area against which we have fitted the open end of a tube. 96 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:33.820 This liquid we are pouring into it is an ordinary flavored drink. 97 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:41.140 We want to see whether the tooth enamel, hard and sound as it is, will be harmed when it is left entirely unprotected. 98 00:09:41.900 --> 00:09:45.380 The opening at the bottom of the tube is mounted firmly against the tooth. 99 00:09:45.380 --> 00:09:49.720 The liquid in it is held continually against one spot on the enamel. 100 00:09:50.560 --> 00:09:53.220 We are going to photograph it through magnifying lenses. 101 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:00.780 Whatever change takes place will be speeded up so we can see it occur. 102 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:07.020 When we see it in time-lapse, we are going to be so near it that only a part of the tooth will show. 103 00:10:09.020 --> 00:10:12.300 Here it is. The tooth is at the right. 104 00:10:12.880 --> 00:10:18.640 The irregular line to the left is where the edge of the tooth and the open end of the tube are sealed together. 105 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:23.660 Keep your eye there. One month has passed. See that darkening? 106 00:10:24.280 --> 00:10:27.200 That's where the liquid is eating its way into the tooth enamel. 107 00:10:28.140 --> 00:10:31.320 The penetration goes more slowly through the fourth and fifth months. 108 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:38.780 This experiment was based on a technique devised by Dr. F.C. Besick of the University of Chicago. 109 00:10:39.900 --> 00:10:46.240 We might have tried any one of a number of foods or beverages, but this flavored drink was convenient for our purpose. 110 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:53.440 The tooth was unprotected, no brushing, no help from the foods that cleanse as we eat them. 111 00:10:54.880 --> 00:11:00.820 Unfortunately, when a cavity once gets started, it almost never stops growing by itself. 112 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:06.900 It just continues getting larger and larger until the damage begins to affect the dentine. 113 00:11:07.160 --> 00:11:14.320 And then the nerve begins to carry pain sensations and pretty soon it's too late to do anything except to take the tooth out. 114 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:23.580 The loss of even one tooth can be serious. It causes those on each side of the gap to be displaced, unless an artificial one is inserted. 115 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:27.500 This time our example is a 54-year-old gentleman. 116 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:35.020 Isn't it remarkable how good his teeth are? All 32 of them. 117 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:40.580 He is Dr. Clive McKay, professor of nutrition at Cornell University. 118 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:47.300 Dr. McKay will show us why the order in which we eat our foods is important. 119 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:52.340 After eating sticky foods, eat something that is juicy and crisp. 120 00:11:52.340 --> 00:12:00.740 So next an apple. Dr. McKay agrees with me there is something more here than the cleansing effect of the fruit on the teeth. 121 00:12:01.420 --> 00:12:07.220 The juicy flavor of the apple starts his mouth watering, increasing the saliva flow. 122 00:12:07.900 --> 00:12:14.320 That's important because the saliva has the job of helping to shield and protect the teeth against decay. 123 00:12:15.060 --> 00:12:20.080 Its ability to do so depends, of course, on our general nourishment and health. 124 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:25.100 We can see this again with another of my patients, Bill Hughes. 125 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.580 Bill has been a patient of mine ever since he was born. 126 00:12:29.040 --> 00:12:37.080 And I want to show you these beautiful teeth so that you can get just an idea of just what an almost perfect set of teeth should look like. 127 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:40.840 Drop your tongue back, Bill. That's better. 128 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:48.420 Now snap your teeth together, Bill. Hard. Hard. Harder. 129 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:53.320 That's the way teeth should sound. Now let's look at these gums. 130 00:12:57.700 --> 00:12:58.460 Now close, Bill. 131 00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:12.540 Now we're going to give Bill a cookie to chew. Go ahead, Bill, chew this up. Show us how a cookie should be chewed. 132 00:13:13.920 --> 00:13:17.840 Now let's take a little better look at this being chewed. 133 00:13:19.660 --> 00:13:23.240 Now bite. Go ahead now chew. 134 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:33.900 Notice how thoroughly that cookie has been masticated. Now, open, Bill, I want to show them the residue that's left there. 135 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:41.860 Look at the sticky residue. Now swallow, Bill. Chew it and swallow and get your mouth as free from that as possible. 136 00:13:43.760 --> 00:13:45.120 That's better. Now let's see. 137 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:53.280 Now notice even after swallowing, the sticky residue of material that's left adhering to those teeth. 138 00:13:54.280 --> 00:13:58.960 I'm going to show you the best way to clean those teeth. Bill, take a couple of bites of that apple. 139 00:13:59.660 --> 00:14:02.840 Now a little faster, Bill. That's it. Chew it up real hard. 140 00:14:04.280 --> 00:14:09.460 Give it to business now. Let's see. Let's see what's happening in here. 141 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:17.780 Notice how that chewing stroke comes from the outside in. That's important. 142 00:14:18.920 --> 00:14:22.520 Notice how the tongue keeps that food on the teeth. 143 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:28.920 Now swallow. 144 00:14:32.220 --> 00:14:37.760 Now let's see. See how clean they are? Every tooth is just as clean as can be. 145 00:14:37.760 --> 00:14:40.320 Now, Bill, I want to show you the result of the action of that succulent fruit. 146 00:14:40.800 --> 00:14:48.840 Do you wonder that I argue fruit should be made available all the time? At home, at school, at work. 147 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:55.420 How succulent that is. How it squirts the juice as the cells are crunched. 148 00:14:55.800 --> 00:15:03.060 To get the natural vitamins and minerals and to get the juicy foods and the crisp foods, we need fruits and vegetables. 149 00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:10.100 Look at them stacked here in the market. They look mighty pretty when they are laid out together like that, don't they? 150 00:15:12.140 --> 00:15:19.640 And just as our eyes respond to the variety of red, yellow, green, and white fruits and vegetables, so do our system. 151 00:15:20.420 --> 00:15:29.120 Here's good eating. The bitey goodness of firm, natural flour bread. Milk, cheese, and eggs. Meat, seafood. 152 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:36.640 Our healthy children like the way their mothers cook vegetables. Not overdone, but leaving the flavor and goodness in. 153 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:43.020 They go for fresh vegetables, the carrot sticks and so on. And for dessert, fruit. 154 00:15:43.400 --> 00:15:49.420 Sometimes they have ice cream or a sweet, but always a fruit to finish, whether at the table or not. 155 00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:53.220 Same way if they want a bite between meals. Fruit's the thing. 156 00:15:53.220 --> 00:16:03.500 After the evening meal, when they're ready to study or to read or to look at the television, the fruit bowl is out there for them to help themselves. 157 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:05.920 This is Janet Blair. 158 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:07.200 Another of my patients. 159 00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:13.980 Do you blame me for being proud of her? As she grew up, she took care of the teeth that make that smile. 160 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:20.620 She is very conscientious about her food habits. Today she is a famous actress, singer, and dancer. 161 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:29.520 She's relaxing here after having played more than 1,200 consecutive performances of South Pacific without missing a single show. 162 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:32.680 See what I mean when I say it's fun to be healthy? 163 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:43.100 Well, it's up to you, for you have learned the simple fact that in the daily care of your teeth, the most important thing is what you eat and when you eat it. 164 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:51.860 Sure, brush your teeth. Don't neglect it. And remember how important it is to get them clean as soon as possible after eating. 165 00:16:52.500 --> 00:16:59.180 And go to your dentist regularly for his professional care. But this is not enough. You have to do your part. 166 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:07.040 You have to build positive health, your entire health. You have to bring good appetite to good meals. 167 00:17:07.040 --> 00:17:18.220 You have to watch the order in which you eat your food. By the simple rearrangement of the order in which foods are eaten, you can reduce the incidence to tooth decay. 168 00:17:19.100 --> 00:17:33.140 And when the toothbrush isn't there and you don't have a chance to use it, that's a double reason why you should remember to clean your teeth with an apple and your meal with a fruit. It's fun to be healthy. 169 00:17:43.800 --> 00:17:49.900 Thank you for watching.