The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-08-02
Southern Dental Observation-Disclosures
cSting Discussion on Operative Ben
from the Baltimore Sun.

From the Baltimore SUM-
The discussion of the subject Of operative
dentistry, which was laid over from We'd
ne>day, was resumed. DR.. McQuilen, of
Philadelphia, said he had been charged with
making an attack upon the paper submitted
OIL Wednesday by DIR. Clark, chairman of
the Committee on Operative Dentistry. He
di>claimed any such intention. He had Il
head of his own and claimed the right to eX-
press his views. 1t had been said during
the discussion of this subject that certain
things did not pay. Gentlemen, the speaker
said. it always pays to do the right thing
[Applause.]
DR. Clark said this doing the right thing is
| what every honest man oughtto do, and it is
| what every man within the sound Of his
| voice is trying to do. But what is the right
thing? That is the rub. Honest men had
used mercurial filling, thereby running the
teeth and cutaiing misery upon humanity.
They believed they were doing the right
thing Many believe contour filling the
right thing. The speaker honestly thought
it was not; he was now going down the
other side Of the hill, and he thought it was
the wrong thing. Contour filing he did not
believe would save the teeth. 1t was the
duty of the dentist to save the teeth; do
IL
would accomplish the object-but at all
events it was the duty of the dentist to save
| the teeth. [Applause.] He did not care to
SEE GOLD SIGN
| show itself every time the lips were parted.
| 1t costs from 800 to 1900 for such filling,
| and men receiving salary of 81 900 per year
| were required to pay such Il price. when the
tooth could be saved at little expense. Is
that the right thing? He contended that the
| cheapest and best way is the right thing.
DR.. Walker maintained that contour filling
| will save the teeth; it might fail sometimes.
| The duty of future dentists, the speaker
said, would he to give advice, when they
instead of tinkering as they do now.
DR.. Foster said the thorough dentist
| looked to the welfare of the whole mouth
pareuts intrusted their child to the dentist
with the instruction to do what the dentist
deemed best, not only to fill the teeth, but
rlace the mouth in the best condition.
pARwISIsM AND DENTISTRY.
DR.. Welchen's subject was Darwinism Us.
this siX.year molar. lie strongly refuted
the doctrine of Darwin that man had his
origin in fish, which had progressed to a
frog, to q monkey, to man, DC. 1t was as
impossible, he said. for frog to be changed
into monkey as it was to changes mosquito
iuto an elephant or dog into horse.
DIR. saltwater addressed the association
particularly upon the subject of the siX-year
molar, and used the blackboard to demon
strate his theory. In filling teeth he said
dentists should be governed by principles.
whether in contour filling or otherwise.
DR.. Guilford was of opinion that by ex-
tracing the Six-year molars they could keep
the other teeth from decaying and keep them
in the natural form. They had done greater
good than by following DIR. Arthur's plan
of keeping them all in and cutting them all
away. BY extracting the six-year molar
and giving plenty of room to irregular
teeth. tine latter might assume regular
shape. 1t had been said that the Creator
placed thirty-two teeth in the mouth, and
they ought to remain there; but he thought
it better to lose some and save others. He
would rather sacrifice the siX-year molars
than to sacrifice all the others by decay.
DR.. Chupein attributed the fact of teeth
not according with the jaw in some persons
to the marriage of persons with wide jaws
and wide teeth to persons with narrow jaws
and narrow teeth, as the offspring of such
might take after one of the parents Us to a
narrow jaw, and to the other parent as to
wide teeth. -z.s -#.E
DR.. Arthur thought the indiscriminate ex.
tracing of bicuspid teeth should be seriously
condemned.
DR.. Clark advocated the expansion of the
Jaw, and was opposed to the indiscrimlnate
extraction of bicuspid teeth, for if that sys-
TEN was continued there would eventually
be meme to remove, just as if you
CIT OFF THE TAILS OF DOGS
for few years, there would eventually be
no tails to cut off. 1t would also result In
disfigured faces, DC.
The subject was further discussed by Drs:
Hickman, Webb, Guilford, Walker, ana
Noble, and the paper submitted on Wednes-
day by DR.. Clark was received as the report
of the committee on operative surgery.