Truby King: The Story Of The Teeth

Sir F. Truby King; The Story of the Teeth (and how to save them) will be the piece of documentation that will be analysed in the course of this essay, alongside minor reference to a nineteen o’ nine public health poster. Both documents, although produced twenty four years apart from one another provide critical insight to early twentieth century attitudes towards the health of children and the role that mothers had to play. Firstly discussed will be the reason for Truby King placing such a huge emphasis on the importance of health care at the beginning of child development. Then the comparisons between Maori and European jaws will be analysed with supporting evidence from the public health poster, followed finally with some explanation as

Truby King’s writing on the value of children's teeth acts as more of a metaphor to emphasize the value of children's health on a whole. Truby King uses the example of teeth not only because oral hygiene genuinely was a concerning problem for adolescents in the early twentieth century but because the example of teeth was able emphasize the importance of developing healthy habits for children straight from the womb. ‘The decay of teeth could be prevented if the matter were only set about early enough and in the right way’, new advances in science and medicine warranted such bold claims that the health of children begins long before the baby is even born. The stance that Truby King has taken, clearly reflects the perspective that good health starts with the mother and runs the course of life; ‘from the cradle to the grave’. Making such scientific research public knowledge was the first step in creating a better society in New Zealand on a whole. Enlightenment ideas which were circulating New Zealand at the time surrounding the moulding of children into good citizens was a key motivation to this writing, as it was believed that good health acted as the foremost contributor to a life without crime. An adult that was not able to work and contribute back to society due to poor health was understood as being far more likely to rely on crime as means to make a living. This work can be interpreted as a first step in taking such research into the public sphere, stressing that

The point of this was not to put down and discriminate those of Maori descent, yet bring to attention just how preventable this problem is, reflecting that the mothers of this country are failing to prepare the next generation to reach the same potential those before them had. This is demonstrated by statements such as “Accuse not nature; she will do her part, do thou but thine”. Truby King was fully aware of how important a strong, healthy society of youth were important to growing a nation in the early twentieth century. This is also articulated by the public health department poster which referred to “Babies as our best immigrants”, impling that racial suicide is not the desired way forward for the nation. By making obvious and undeniable statements surrounding the inadequate state of oral health in those of European descent, Turby was able to clearly provide an example to mothers at home of exact ways New Zealand children were falling off the pace, and it was the mothers who had the power to make a difference. Furthermore this helps one to understand why the example of teeth worked to desired effect, as he was able to project his desired message to New Zealand women from within the narrative of children's