Note (43) — CANTO FIFTH.

That the general health of the body is affected by the state of the stomach and lungs, is a proposition which few, if any, will deny.—And that the condition of either depends on the nature of whatever is introduced into it, will likewise be readily admitted. The effects which the state of the teeth may have upon the lungs, may therefore be considered in the first place. The chemical process which is carried on in the mouth, by means of its moisture and heat, will always, in a greater or less degree, cause the putrefaction of whatever extraneous matter is permitted to lodge upon or between the teeth. The air, even in the most open situation, is affected by passing over any putrescent substance. Now as the mouth is the chief passage by which the air enters the lungs, and as the air is affected by whatever it passes over or through, the lungs can never receive it in a pure state, except the mouth, through which it is introduced, be perfectly clean and healthy. But while any extraneous matter is permitted to accumulate and remain on the teeth, the mouth will naturally become unclean and unhealthy, imparting an infectious taint to the air which is inhaled.

“Fetid breath is occasioned by the state of the mouth, and seldom results from the condition of the stomach or digestive organs, as erroneously supposed. The escape of vapor from a disordered stomach can produce only a temporary effect, but from uncleanliness of the mouth, we find the taint constant and habitual; and unless the cause be eradicated, all the spices and perfumes of the east, though they may for a moment conceal, cannot remove it. Cleanliness of the mouth, therefore, is of great importance to the general health; in fact, the danger of the lungs from a constantly putrid effluvium has been strongly commented upon by the faculty of medicine, as a leading cause of pulmonary consumption.” (L. S. Parmly’s Lectures.)

“We respire,” says Dr. Fitch, “about twenty thousand times in twenty-four hours, and yet, for months and years, this vast quantity of air is rendered poisonous by one or more diseased teeth. How little does it avail an individual, if by every possible means the purity of the air is preserved; if no impurities are suffered to remain in the streets; if his tenements are kept clean, his apartments ventilated; if he make distant journeys at a great expense of time and money, for the benefit of pure air, and, at the same time, carry the cloaca of filth in his own mouth? If this state of the breath, caused by bad teeth, so affects the olfactory nerves of a person near an individual having bad teeth, what must be its effect upon the delicate and sensible tissues of the lungs of the person himself? Nature has formed the lungs most delicate and sensible, and susceptible to the slightest injurious impressions:—She has also finely tempered the atmosphere for its safe and healthy reception in these delicate organs; but an accident, or a disease, may render it impure, unfit for respiration, and cause it, instead of harmonizing with the lungs in the most perfect manner, to exercise a baneful influence, armed with pestilence, and scattering the seeds of disease over the lungs, thus pouring the streams of deadly poison through every vein in the system. The matter thrown off from the teeth in a state of disease and putrefaction, and also some states of diseased gums, is very acrid in its nature, as is demonstrated by its vitiating the saliva so much as to dissolve and oxydate metals, even silver, and to tarnish gold. We know that many of our organs have the power of resisting, for a length of time, in a wonderful manner, the effects of injurious impressions; but with the lungs I am disposed to believe that even slightly injurious impressions, if continued, will, sooner or later, prove to them a cause of disease and disorganization.” (Fitch on the Teeth, pp. 300, 301.)