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This page directs the use of hazardous substances — such as benzine, gasoline, lye, or strong acids — for household tasks. These materials are highly flammable, corrosive, or poisonous, and the practices described have caused fires, burns, and poisonings.
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The Teeth: Tooth
Tooth powders containing charcoal assist in whitening the teeth. A little dry charcoal powder may be rubbed gently into the crevices between the teeth on retiring at night, and brushed or rinsed out thoroughly in the morning. The use of bicarbonate of soda as a tooth powder has the same property.
Mix 1 ounce of chloride of lime, 10 ounces of prepared chalk, ounce of Peruvian bark, 1 teaspoonful of tincture of myrrh. Use once a day until the teeth are sufficiently whitened.
Afterwards use an ordinary tooth powder.
The juice of the common strawberry is said to be a natural dentifrice which has the property of dissolving tartar and sweetening the breath - Or, to remove tartar, dip the brush in powdered magnesia.
Tooth Powder.
A good tooth powder is a very necessary toilet article, as it not only increases the efficiency of the brush, but also makes the operation of cleansing the teeth more agreeable, and hence tends to strengthen the habit.
Standard tooth powders are based mainly upon some carbonate having a slightly alkaline quality. But care must be taken not to use the stronger alkalies, as they tend to irritate the gums and mucuous surfaces of the mouth. Many of the tooth powders of commerce, especially the cheaper sorts, contain substances that if used with hard water produce free alkali.
This may have a very injurious effect upon the gums. Hence it is much better to buy the ingredients and make up a tooth powder for yourself, or have a recipe made up for you by a local druggist. Thus you will know exactly what ingredients it contains.
The powders used in tooth powders must be very finely pulverized and free from gritty particles. Such substances as ground oyster shells, pumice, cuttlefish bone, cigar ashes, and the like, unless ground very fine indeed, are unnecessarily coarse and gritty. Tooth powders may be colored at will, as the coloring matter does not affect their efficiency one way or the other. The addition of some agreeable perfume, as the oil of wintergreen, sassafras, or the like, may have a decided advantage in making children and others take more kindly to the frequent use of tooth powder. A word of caution is especially needed against the use of commercial tooth powders that rapidly remove tartar and quickly give the teeth a snowy whiteness. To accomplish these results they contain strong acids that will injure the enamel and make the last state of the teeth much worse than the first.
To Compound Tooth Powders. If charcoal or cuttlefish bone are used, they should be reduced to a very fine powder in a mortar, and may THE TEETH then be poured off without disturbing the sediment. The water may then be permitted to evaporate, thus leaving a resulting powder of the best quality. be improved by mixing with water and allowing the coarser and heavier particles to settle. The finer particles that settle more slowly may TOOTH POWDERS Camphorated Powders.