The Kanzas news., 1858-08-07
New Method of Extracting Teeth
without Pain.

W1640t5 sA44s
Various modes of relieving the pain caus-
ed by extracting teeth have been pracuceo
by dentists, some of which IS by the use OF
ether and cbloroform, while they were gen
erallv effective, were Objectionable for the
injurious consequences that sometimes tol-
lowed. Hence dentists are, for the most
uart. shy of administering them. The want
of some agent that should simply benumb
the nerve only during the time of the opera
ton. and the influence of which should
then disappear. has been 50 urgent that
multitude of expedients have been tried, and
some of these are practieed By pretenders
in the profession, which are but fraudulent
devices to obtain patients. For these rea-
sons, any new agent of these preteusions Is
and ought to be regarded with great dis
trust. until it has been submitted to long
and successful practice. We SHALL there
fore, speak cautiously of the method brought
to the notice of the dentists in this city
within the last month, and now upon trial
by some Of them It is the application of
the galvanic current, excited by a small
battery, such as is used for medical purpos-
es-one of The poles being attached to the
extracting forceps, and the other held in
the hand a little apparatus is attached by
which the operator with his foot causes the
circuit to be closed as he applies the instru
ment The electrical current is small in
quantity, causing but slight and not un-
pleasant sensation, when the two poles are
held, one in each hand. There is nothing,
therefore, alarming in the application
When the foreeps are placed upon the tooth
the operator treads upon little spring,
which closes break in the wire, and at the
same instant draws the tooth. The effect
appears to be simply benumbing the nerve,
the shock being too triiing for the relief to
be ascribed to the distracting the attention
of the patient. We have ourselves seen
but one operation performed with it, but we
are assured that several hundred teeth have
been extracted in this city the last week with
great satisfaction to the patients. The op-
portunity of witnessing the experiment oc-
CURED while we were in the Office of the
dentist--a stranger who had heard of the
process, calling to have tooth extracted.
He was an Englishman, 49 years of age,
with a full and splendid set of teeth. A
wisdom tooth only had been extracted. and
| the removal of that caused so much pain he
was ready enough to try the new process
| for the removal. The tooth was drawn
without any manifestation of pain, and on
questioning the patient he assured US that
he felt none-the greatest sensation being
in the hand in which he held one pole of
the battery. He expressed himself highly
| gratifed with the operation. Another pa
tient young lad, whose tooth had been
taken out in the same way, described the
sensation as only ''a kind of a tickling.''-
The process, we understand, was invented
by dentist of Philadelphia, and has been
for sometime before the profession of that
city and Baltimore, 1t is properly regarded
as yet on trial, dentists not yet being fully
committed to its adoption, though we have
heard no objection advanced to its use
Should it prove what certainly seems prob
able, it will be by far the best agent ever
yet applied-perfectly harmless, acting only
during the time of the operation, and eff
fecting only the nerve itself, which in ordi-
nary cases transmits the pain. Nor will
| the application be limited to the extraction
of teeth, for it seems equally well adapted
to most surgical operations, the conducting
wire being attached to the lancet or other
instrument, equally as well ms to the den
lists forceps.-N Y. Tribune.