[ Music ] [U. S. Public Health Service in cooperation with The American Film Center presents] [About Faces] [Narrated by Lowell Thomas] [This picture is made possible thru the generosity of Mr. Cator Woolford of Sterling, Georgia.] [Produced for the United States Public Health Service by Sound Masters, Inc.] [Screen Play Oscar Saul, Direction Owen Murphy] [Supervision of dental scenes Frank C. Cady, D. D. S., U. S. Public Health Service, J. G. Williams, D. D. S., Georgia Department of Public Health] [Narrator:] Will everybody in the audience please run the tip of his tongue over his teeth? In the spirit of the story please. That's right, thanks. That's the idea. Thank you. And what do you find? Anything wrong? Bridgework? Missing teeth? That's what I thought. Well that's what the story's about. About teeth. About Danny Smith's teeth in particular. And here's Danny applying for an important job. What do his teeth have to do with it? Well, are they helping him? Or spoiling his appearance and his chances? And if they are helping him, how did they get the way they are? Just look or what? [ Animated figure with a camera over his shoulder running along] For the answer to that we'll have to go back through the years to the time when he was two months old. Not thinking about teeth here. No teeth to think about. And there still isn't much doing on the dental front six months later. When Danny ruled over, in the order of their appearance, his mother, his father, and his grandmother- leading the family group. What's going on here? You two have discovered something. Can it be that this is Danny's first -- [ Baby Crying and Music ] Yes, that's what it is. Danny's first tooth! There it is. All alone in [inaudible] and then comes company. [ Music ] Well, Danny's getting along in years. Here he is way past two. His mother has planned her decision. Listen. [Mrs. Smith:] Doug. [Mr. Smith:] Yes dear? [Mrs. Smith:] Let's take Danny to the dentist. [Mr. Smith:] What's the matter, does he got a toothache? [Mrs. Smith:] No, but one of the women took me to a mother's club meeting the other day where a dentist spoke. He said that all children should be taken to the dentist as soon as their baby teeth cut through the gums. [Mr. Smith:] Now what could be wrong with Danny's teeth at his age? Nothing. [Mrs. Smith:] Well, I still think he ought to see a dentist. You have some time tomorrow. Why don't you come along and see what Dr. Jones has to say. [Mr. Smith:] I think it's a silly idea. Danny has better teeth than I have; more of them too. I say forget the whole thing. [ Music ] [Narrator:] So they went to the dentist. [ Music ] [Dr. Jones:] How do you do, Mrs. Smith? [Mrs. Smith:] Good afternoo,n Dr. Jones. My husband and I would like you to examine Danny's teeth. [Mr. Smith:] How do you do, Dr. Jones? [Dr. Jones:] How do you do, Mr. Smith. [Mr. Smith:] My wife does insist on having Danny's teeth examined, although I don't see why that's necessary. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them. [Dr. Jones:] Maybe not, but we can't be absolutely sure of that until we've given his teeth a careful examination. It may even be necessary to x-ray them. [Mr. Smith:] X-ray? [Dr. Jones:] That's right. They're doing a great deal with x-ray these days. In fact, I just received a bulletin from the American Dental Association showing some of their recent findings. Perhaps you'd be interested in seeing some of them. [Mrs. Smith:] I'm sure we would. [Mr. Smith:] Yes of course. [Dr. Jones:] It's really amazing the things they're accomplishing these days. These cavities were so small that the eye might have missed them, but they didn't escape the x-ray. [Mr. Smith:] Yes, but if they're so small they can't be harmful [inaudible]. [Dr. Jones:] Well, if a cavity is neglected, it always develops into a large one. Treatment becomes more unpleasant. Takes more time and costs more money. Now here. This tooth was filled as soon as decay appeared. And this tooth was neglected and the decay spread. If such a condition is not corrected, it will result in the loss of the tooth. [Mrs. Smith:] But is that serious Dr. Jones? After all, they are only baby teeth. [Dr. Jones:] Yes they're baby teeth, but they're very important nevertheless. If they're decayed, they will interfere with the child's ability to chew his food and may have a bad effect on his general health. But that's only part of the story. Early loss of a baby tooth may cause the adult teeth to come in crooked. [Mrs. Smith:] Well, it seems as if the baby teeth are important after all. [Mr. Smith:] As usual, my wife was right. [Dr. Jones:] There is still another important reason for coming here [in?] time. The child's first experience with a dentist will be a pleasant one. It means an examination. Possibly an x-ray. And a cleaning. Consequently he won't mind coming for a periodic checkup. [Mrs. Smith:] I'd like to know if Danny's teeth are all right. [Dr. Jones:] Then let's get started. [ Music ] [Narrator:] And Dr. Jones makes friends with Danny. Makes him feel right at home. Child psychology they call it nowadays. [ Music ] Danny is at ease. He has complete confidence in the doctor. The examination is all part of the fun. Danny enjoys it . And his parents are relieved, for as Dr. Jones predicted, Danny's first visit to the dentist has been a pleasant one. It will be remembered as good fun. When the time for the next visit rolls around, four months from now, Danny won't have to be coaxed and the visit was an informative one for Danny's parents. They learned a great many surprising things about teeth that day. For instance, Dr. Jones told the Smiths they could walk along anywhere and stop almost anybody and find that they have decayed teeth. Yes, anybody at all. This young woman for instance. She is unaware of her neglect, but look. The x-ray reveals a filling which represents previous decay taken care of, but here is a new cavity that needs immediate attention. What of this enterprising young merchant selling service with a smile? A happy lad with laughing, merry eyes. And currently he has rhythm and maybe a song in his heart. Woe is the day his teeth have decay. Observe. The x-ray shows he has a large cavity in a baby tooth that he will soon lose. And a new cavity on the biting surface of a second tooth. Baby teeth growing out. Second teeth coming in and decay in both. Yes sir, coming and going. The doctor told the Smiths, such as this retired lawmaker, wise enough to make a nation's laws, but not wise enough to take care of his teeth. Just roll your eyes over this x-ray. Abscess. Decay. Anything wrong? Is there anything that isn't wrong?. Let's examine the case of this in-a-hurry gentleman. At one time or another almost everybody has decayed teeth and what do most of them do? Well, let's see what he does. He thinks it over very carefully. Decides he's too busy to take care of a little cavity. It doesn't hurt and after all, what's a little cavity? Months go by. And a year goes by. And then what happens? The little cavity has become a big cavity. And the little pain is a big pain. So suddenly he's not too busy. [ Music ] He wouldn't bother with a cavity, so he'll have to bother with bridgework. And he didn't want to run up a little bill, so now it's a big bill. After all, what's a little cavity? Getting back to the Smiths, Dr. Jones told them there are three ways of brushing teeth. This way, from side to side. Or the floor washing method. Very effective for washing floors. This is known as the circular or window washing treatment. Also very effective for washing windows. And here's the right way. The upper teeth are brushed with a downward motion. The lower teeth with an upward motion. And the chewing surfaces are brushed by putting the brush into the grooves and vibrating it backward and forward. Sounds complicated, but anybody can learn. Well, here's Danny again. Eight years old today. And having himself a time celebrating the occasion. Danny's building himself up to a terrific case of odontology. Toothache to you. And a toothache by any name hurts just as much, as Danny is beginning to find out. Teeth can take so much punishment from sweets. As we can see in this picture of decay getting started [in the?] first tooth. Then slowly cutting through until the tooth has become infected at the end of the one of the roots. Yes, Danny doesn't feel so good. He has a very low opinion of candy at the moment. It wasn't all the candy's fault, as Mrs. Smith realizes. She hasn't followed through on Danny's teeth. She kept the appointments for several years and then well, like a lot of mothers, she forgot. Result? Trouble. Well, better late than never. But unfortunately it is too late. Too late to save the infected molar. For Dr. Jones had to extract it to prevent further complications. He told Mrs. Smith how serious an infected tooth can be. He showed her how decay begins, and when neglected, penetrates the enamel and attacks the inner part of the teeth. How, if permitted, the decay spreads and spreads, sometimes causing an abcess. And an abcess like this means going, going gone. And Mrs. Smith, properly sorry, resolved that no such neglect would occur again. All that 16 years ago. What happened to Danny? Well, our frantic cameraman brings us up to today. And here is Danny, a healthy, confident looking young man of 24. Here is his mother. A bit older. A bit grayer, and if possible, a bit prouder of Danny. This is an eventful day in the Smith household. And the gay smiles and cheery banter of mother and son are just make-believe to conceal the anxiety each feels. For Danny has an appointment downtown for a new job that's going to mean a lot to him. It's the job he was applying for when we first met him back at the start of the story. We asked you if his personal appearance would aid in his landing the job. And what part his teeth played, and how necessary was it to take good care of them. The answers seem pretty obvious in the light of what we've seen. Good looking teeth and good looking appearance go hand-in-hand. If you have any doubts about how strong, healthy teeth complement a lovely face [inaudible]. This picture is about faces. There is this young lady. Lovely teeth help make the lady lovely. Nice teeth always help. We don't appreciate how essential they are until we make comparisons. And speaking of comparisons, let's make some. These gentlemen answer the purpose very well. Would you say there was competition for Robert Taylor here? Or here? Or here? After all, what's a little cavity? And here is the business appointment that started us thinking. We sought to prove that good, sound teeth are a must if we would be healthy. But they are a must if we value our personal appearance. We feel Danny has proved the point of our argument. But what about keeping our teeth that way? How does Danny handle that much? Let's see. Months at the job. Long hours. Hard work. And lost in the immediate troubles before him, Danny is forgetting. Forgetting that important date he has with the dentist on June 18th. June 18th, Danny. That's today for the dentist. Remember? No, he doesn't remember. Well, we've got some bad news for him. He doesn't know it yet, but one of his teeth is beginning to decay. The strange part of it is, Danny takes [care of?] his teeth. For example, he eats good, solid food; very little sweets. But his teeth are decaying anyway. That's how teeth are. There's no way of stopping the decay except by going to a dentist; having it removed, and the tooth filled. Danny brushes his teeth every day, and properly too. But that doesn't stop decay. His teeth and your teeth need more than a bath. They need a dentist. Well, as you guessed, Danny has entirely forgotten his dental appointment. In his enthusiasm for the new job, he has fallen into the neglect common to so many of us. He just doesn't realize how he'll look if he loses that tooth. It does make a difference, doesn't it? [ Music ] Danny is going to be just another man who wouldn't bother with a little cavity. That is, unless something happens. Unless something warns him of the danger. Wow. Well, Danny got his warning. The cold water did the trick. And he's lucky it happened before the decay had gone too far. Remember the pause that made him remember he forgot. And before you and I can say, see your dentist regularly, Danny will be sitting in the dentist's chair. And the tooth has been saved. It has a filling, but it has [inaudible]. And Danny's had a lesson. He's going to remember to visit the dentist three times a year. He's going to remember that regular [inaudible] treat decay and help guard against the loss of teeth. That's pretty much the story ladies and gentlemen. [ Music ] It's the story of Danny Smith. It might have been the story of you. Or you. Or you. Of the fellow next door. The girl down the block. [ Music ] It might well be the story of this young man paying his first visit to the dentist. And happily bringing our story to the end. [The End] [ Music ] [Screen Play Oscar Saul, Narration Lowell Thomas, Direction Owen Murphy] [Supervised by Ernest R. Bryan, W. Allen Luey, U. S. Public Health Service] [Technical Consultants Frank C. Cady, D. D. S., U. S. Public Health Service, J. G. Williams, D. D. S., Georgia Department of Public Health, E. R. Coffey, M. D., U. S. Public Health Service] [In cooperation with American Film Center] [U. S. Public Health Service, 1798] [Federal Security Agency, Paul V. McNutt, Administrator. U. S. Public Health Service, Thomas Parran, Surgeon General.] [From the Film Library of the American Dental Association, Chicago.]