Page:Personal beauty how to cultivate and preserve it in accordance with the laws of health (1870).djvu/143

 Mix carefully. This is particularly useful when the teeth have been stained by taking medicines containing iron.

When the gums are sore and spongy with a tendency to bleed, the following should be used:—

Precipitated chalk      one ounce; Powdered borax          half an ounce; Powdered myrrh          quarter of an ounce; Powdered orris-root     quarter of an ounce.

If it is desired to whiten the teeth very rapidly, the following powder may be obtained, but ordinarily it should never be employed more than once or twice a week, as it wears the enamel with great rapidity. Pumice-stone is one of the objectionable ingredients in secret tooth-powders.

Pumice-stone in impalpable powder     one ounce; Bicarbonate of soda                   half an ounce; Powdered talc                         half an ounce; Some flavoring oil                    a few drops.

With the pumice-stone omitted, the remaining articles can be freely used when the saliva is acid and the breath sour.

If one or another of these powders is judiciously applied, and the other precautions for the care of the teeth observed, we can almost guarantee our readers that they will live long without taking a seat in the dentist's chair, unless the mischief has already been done. They must, furthermore, avoid cleansing the