Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/140

 charcoal is, that it occasionally leaves a dark line at the base of the teeth. This can be prevented by attention, and by keeping the mouth closed during sleep—a very important point to observe for all who would have sound teeth and a sweet mouth.

We next come to the choice and the use of the tooth-brush, a modern invention, though substitutes for it, such as pieces of soft wood, coarse woollen cloth, and so forth, have been familiar adjuncts of the toilette table time out of mind. The Chinese ladies aim to have their teeth black, the Persians red, the Japanese gilt, but we have a preference for the natural white, and how to preserve that pearly lustre without injury to the enamel is one of the problems of the cosmetic artist.

The brush should be used morning and night, not violently but thoroughly, on the front, back, and crowns of all the teeth. The bristles should be soft, not stiff nor harsh, and of unequal length in each tuft, so that they will reach to the interstices of the teeth. They should be cut convexly, so as to adapt them to the inner side of the teeth, and arranged in three or four rows. Such brushes are now manufactured in England, and can be obtained in this city and elsewhere.

There are some objections to the tooth-brush. It is apt to scratch the gums and wear the enamel to an extent which is injurious. Owing to the stiffness of even