The Face and Teeth of Man

If expenditure of wealth for a certain thing be taken as an index of the esteem in which it is held, then the human face must be very dear to mankind. More money is spent by people on their faces than on any other bodily feature. According to the latest available statistics reported in newspapers, there are in the nation 40,ObO beauty parlors, where the public spends $5,000,000 a day. The investment in the production of machinery, cosmetics, and other supplies used in such establishments is reported to be slightly under $500,000,000. For the purchase of one business, reports the New York Times, an offer of $7,500,000 was "promptly and emphatically rejected." Similar statistics concerning the teeth are not available. Little is known as to just what the public spends for their care. It is, however, difficult to imagine that any living dentist would reject an offer of $7,500,000 for his practice, although it is not unusual to note the attribute of wealth in obituaries of dentists. The regard for teeth, therefore, could not be estimated from the criterion of money spent upon them. But judging from the general clamor of the public for dental service, it is quite obvious that the teeth do come in for a large share of attention. Reports of health examinations in schools, in hospital clinics, in special dental clinics, and even experience in private practice, tend to prove that the teeth are of no less concern to mankind than is the face. A survey of the dental situation made by the New York Tuberculosis and Health Association in Greater New York brought to light some facts of interest in this connection. According to this report there are in 1 Read at a meeting of the First District Dental Society of the State of New York, New York Academy of Medicine, November 5, 1928. 179