Magic Weapons For Healthy Teeth (1978)

Hey, [music] Louis. Come on. Oh, mom. My teeth are okay. I take good care of them. >> Louis, I know the only teeth I've got. >> Okay, four cards here. Two red cards and two black cards. If we take the two red cards and the two black cards, >> that's Dr. Dawn. >> Watch closely. Black on the inside, red on the outside. >> Wow, that's neat. >> Thank you. I'm going to show you the trick one more time. And watch closely. The two blacks are in the inside. Two reds are in the outside. >> That's neat. >> Thank you. We're going to see you at your next appointment, Joanna. Thank you for a good day. >> Okay. Bye. >> Hello. I'm Mrs. Young. Uh, my son Lewis has an appointment. >> Hello, Mrs. Young. How are you, Louis? >> Fine. >> I'm sorry we're a little late. I'm supposed to be at hockey practice. >> So, I see this is a nice stick that you have here. >> What position do you play? >> Forward. >> Good. I'm going to put your stick here for safekeeping. Let me help you off with your jacket. And we are going to have one heck of a great appointment today. Come on into the office. Just have a seat in the yellow chair, Lewis, while I get myself a little bit organized today. Make yourself nice and comfortable. First, I'm going to need some instruments. Right. Let's see. You know, sometimes I'm so disorganized I can't find anything. Have you ever had one of those days? >> I can't even find my assistant today. >> Oh, there you are. >> Hi, Louis. How are you? >> Fine. Good. >> Please put Louiswis's napkin on for me. >> Okay. Haven't seen you in quite a while. Yeah. >> You've been out playing a lot of hockey. All right. >> Thank you, Ann. >> Okay, >> Louis, have you had any teeth knocked out playing hockey? >> Uhuh. >> No. Do you still have some baby teeth left? >> Would you mind if I took a look to count the baby teeth that you have? Thank you. Nice and wide open. Very nice. Uhhuh. Lewis, have you been brushing your teeth regularly? >> Yeah. You know, Lewis, in your mouth, there are hundreds and billions of bugs. >> Bugs? >> That's right. Scientists call these bugs bacteria. Now, these yucky bugs can get together in gangs. And when they do, they try to cause mischief in your mouth. Before long, and this is less than a day, they've formed a vicious army. And this army of bugs not only drops smelly goop on your teeth but creates acids which help dissolve and cause decay in your teeth. We call these invading armies plaque. >> Plaque, >> right? Plaque. This army of bugs called plaque needs food just like people so that it can make more goop and more acids in your mouth. And you know what the armies want you to eat? sugar and put it in your mouth because sugar is bug food. The plaque also covers the teeth so that the saliva can't clean them. >> Can you see these little bugs? >> Well, you can't see them with your eyes, but we can see them under a microscope. Do you think that you have any of these bugs in your mouth? >> No. >> Everyone in your school has them, and that includes the teachers. and I can show you where these armies hide. >> What does this stuff do? >> It's a special mouth rinse. It doesn't do anything to your teeth. Rinse with it and you'll see what this solution does is it stains and colors the bugs in your mouth, but doesn't affect your teeth. And after you're finished rinsing, you can empty right over there. Take a look. >> Oh no. Hey, don't be so upset. You'll find that. Remember, we said everyone has these bugs in their mouth. It's what happens when you haven't done a real good job of brushing your teeth. >> How does all that stuff get there in the first place? >> Well, it's kind of tricky. For instance, if you had two bugs that looked like this, they grow very fast. And you decide to take this one and brush it away. And then you just had this one left. Put the one bug in your hand and hold it out over the table. I'm going to take the other bug and put it in my pocket. You know, just like if you would have rinsed it down the sink. In a matter of seconds, these bugs grow very fast. Why don't you open your hand and see what happens? Can you believe that? That happens pretty quickly. But watch this. If you to take the bugs, just two now, okay? And you hold these two in your hands. Hold them tightly so they don't get out. They grow and they get warmer and warmer and before you know it, there are millions and millions of these bugs just like when you open your hands. >> Wow. Yes. So, these armies of plaque which are in your mouth still need food to exist and to do their job on your teeth. When the food is there, the bugs work. Remember, the foods that stay cause decay. The foods that stay cause decay. >> Fortunately, we have kind of some magical weapons to help us out. We have fluoride, we have dental floss, and we have toothbrushing. To show you that these are for real, if we were to take and apply a little magic to it, you might find HOLY SMOKES. That was pretty hot, huh? I wonder what happened magically. Look at this. We have your toothpaste with fluoride in it. Here is the floss that you can use in between your teeth. And here is a special toothbrush that can be used in school or at home. Sort of magic weapons to fight tooth decay and gum disease. Would you like to see how other people look before they come in for a program of good dental health care? >> Yeah. >> How do you like these cards? >> Me. >> Pretty sharp, huh? Actually, what you're going to see is something rather miraculous. Look at that. Some people come in like this. Pretty neat, huh? Other people come in and they haven't been doing a good job either. What do you think of that? Pretty yucky, huh? But if you're doing a good job, what you can expect to come out with is something as beautiful as that. Is there any question which one you would rather be, Lewis? >> Getting back to the magic weapons, Louis, has anyone ever shown you how to keep your teeth clean and your gums healthy? >> Not really. >> Would you like me to show you how? >> Yeah. >> Okay. You should use a small toothbrush with a straight handle. Notice the surface is flat and the bristles are round and smooth. >> Do I use toothpaste? >> Well, I do because it gives my mouth a good, clean feeling and makes my breath smell fresh. And you know that toothpaste with fluoride in them help protect against tooth decay. Watch. You take your brush and you place it up against the teeth where the gum and the tooth meet. That's where the plaque is heaviest. Brush in a back and forth motion over two teeth several times with a kind of short rubbing motion. I'll bet you didn't know that it was as important to brush the tongue sides of the teeth as well as the lip and cheek sides. Now, scrub the biting surfaces of the teeth. >> Right. Chew. >> Exactly. Scrub the lowers first with a back and forth motion, then scrub the uppers. And finally, I want you to brush your tongue because >> my tongue. >> Yes, your tongue. Because those bugs drop the smelly goop on your tongue and plaque hides there also. So you see brushing is as important on the outer surfaces of the teeth as flossing is in between the teeth. Flossing is probably one of the best plaque attackers that there is because by flossing in between the teeth you can get where no toothbrush can reach. It really takes someone of your age to be able to do this. Younger children have their parents help them. Dental floss is a really important plaque attacker because it goes where no toothbrush can reach. The first thing we have to do is take a piece of floss about 18 in long and break it off. You see this one's for you. And I'll take one for myself. Okay. Now, what you do this is you wrap the floss around your middle finger of one hand. Keep going. And the rest of the thread around the middle finger of the other hand. Place the pointer fingers on top and the thumbs below, keeping the floss tight in between your fingers. Now you can use the pointer fingers to push on the lower teeth and your thumbs to push on the upper teeth. Take the floss and carefully and slowly slide it in between the teeth so you don't suddenly slip and hurt your gums. Now, when you reach the gum tissue, wrap the floss into a kind of U shape around the tooth and slide it gently below the gum line. Move it carefully back and forth along the side of one tooth and then the other. As you move to the next tooth, unwrap the floss from one finger and wrap it around the other. This way, you will be using a clean section each time. And remember, keep the floss tight. >> It's bleeding a little. >> H, that happens sometimes, but it stops once you've been flossing regularly. You see, plaque buildup is the major cause for bleeding gums. If you remove plaque from your mouth every day, not only will your gums get healthier, but you're going to be happier. I can see most of the plaque is gone from your front teeth. And you've done quite a good job today. >> Thanks. But I don't think I could brush our floss when I'm at school. >> Well, today more children than ever are brushing at school. But if there's just no time, go to a drinking fountain and rinse your mouth out with water for one minute after each time you eat. >> One minute. By the way, Louis, what foods do you like to eat best? >> That's easy. A chocolate bar. I eat three after every hockey game. And then I wash it down with some soda pop. >> Oh, bug food again. Those bugs in the plaque love sugar. And while you're eating, so are they. >> Everybody on the team eats candies and drinks sodas all the time. >> Oh boy. You know, they've all got cavities. >> You're probably right. Instead of eating candy, why not bite into a big juicy apple or have a delicious orange? Did you know that sugar-free bubble gum tastes great? And you'll be doing yourself and your teeth a big favor. Avoid those sticky candies and those gooey cookies. And did you know that some of the sweetened cereals today actually have more sugar than a candy bar? >> More? >> Remember the bugs? >> You mean those armies called plaque? >> Mhm. I sure wish all my patients would learn as fast as you. Now watch. >> How would you do that? >> With mirrors, of course. Besides hockey, Lewis, what other sports do you like to play? >> Baseball. sometimes touch football. >> I hope you wear your mouth protector so you don't injure any of those little pearls. >> I always wear one. >> That's good. Say, do you ever use your teeth to open anything? >> No way. >> Good deal. >> I saw a friend of mine break off his tooth trying to open a soda bottle >> for you. >> Thank you. Well, whether they're baby teeth or adult teeth, it's really important to remember that they must be cared for every day and of course examined every 6 months. >> Dr. Dawn, can you show me one more trick? >> Haven't you had enough magic for one day? >> Uh-uh. Okay, Louis. But remember, if there's one thing that's truly magic, it's the strong, healthy teeth that you can have if you drink fluoridated water and use toothpaste with fluoride in it. By avoiding those junk foods with sugar, that's bug food. By eating good treats like a chunk of cheese or a fresh apple, bananas, or crisp nuts. By drinking milk and fresh juices rather than sweet drinks. by protecting your teeth with a mouth protector and sports. And of course, by brushing and flossing away the plaque each day. Because foods that stay cause decay.