The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-10-07
DEADLY DENTISTRY.
TWO Cases of Fatal Opera.
tons on the Teeth.
ONE FROM POISONOUS FILLING
Another from Alleged Bad
Surgery.

the 9th ut. after Sickness or Two weeks, during
| which his agony was something almost unheard Of
Since his death his PHYSICIANS diagnosis and theory
of tho have been made public showing that
that gentleman is greatly in the disease
itself was a remarkable and its beginning was
due to distressing and it is said crminally careless
blunder the part of some DR.. s. s. Guy. who
attended him in his last illness, declares that death
duo to septicaemia from gangrene OF the mouth
and face arising from treatment Of tooth. and he
declares that the history Of the he believes
the disease to have been caused by arsencal poison
ing from the absorption Of arsenious acid used in
treating the pulp of Mr.. Gardeners tooth.
Mr.. Gardiner was civil engineer who lived for
many years in Brooklyn. and who at tho time of his
death was at his boarding house. No. 80 Henry
street in that CITY, He married niece of the his
toran Prescott, and portion of his family now
live in Nantucket, Mass while another portion is in
Ithaca, where his son, Edward Gardiner. is pro-
lessor in Cornell University. Early in September
Mr.. Gardiner in Boston. and while there. it is
said went to a dentist named Waters (who is said to
be his cousn to obtain treatment for the first moar
tooth in his right lower jaw. The tooth de-
cayed and very painful. DR.. Waters. SO it is
stated at first placed q rubber plug in the
tooth but as that proved to be too painful
to endure took 1t out later in the day and placed
i'll it a temporary filling. That night Mr.. Gardiner
returned to Brooklyn. and the following day
which was Friday, September 10. he called on some
physician, whose name is not known, thinking he
had neuralgia. The physician told him his trouble
not neuralgia and referred him to dentist. He
went to Dr. c. A. Marvin, of No. 148 Clinton street.
who examined his tooth and found, as he believed
and still believes, that it was ordinary of
diseased tooth. He removed the temporary filling
and made light application Of creosote. and Mr..
Gardiner left his office His suffering grew in
tense aud on the Following Tuesday DR.. Guy was
called in.
THE POISON DETECTED.
He diagnosed the case one OF arsenical poison
ing, and treated it such, making some effort to
how the arsenic had been put in the tooth.
Mr. Gardiner, however, was in too much agony to
converse, and there difficulty at first in finding
out the facts already told It was also decided that
traction of the tooth. From that time until he died
his sufferings were indescribable The tissues NOR
tilted and sloughcd, Off and the veins ono by
were eaten away with gangrene, until at length
OF the larger the neck broke. and in the hem
orrhage which folowed no escaped from the torture
| Dr. Guy fled certificate of death declaring the
| cause of death to be "septicaemia from gansrene
| of mouth and face arising from treatment of a
| tooth" Nothing was said in the certificate about
arsenical poisoning. and Dr. Wyckof. OF the Board
of Health granted a burial permit: indorsing the
certificate "Gangrene after operation" The record
was then duly pigeonholed and tho facts. which
| would have been developed at Coroner's inquest
had one ordered, left for the press to dis
cover. A Boston paper publishing notice of NJ:
Gardiner and his family relations said the treatment
of a tooth had led to his death, and this caused
investigation to be instituted. which yesterday
suited In publication OF the circumstances.
These told fully by Mr. A. G. Lewis. of No.
296 Lafayette avenue, an intimate friend OF Mr. Gar
diner and the person who induced him to call in Dr.
| GUY Mr. Lewis declared that his friend was In life
| physically almost perfect He lacked only half an
inch Of six feet in height and perfectly formed
| weighing TIA pounds without any superiuous flesh
and measuring forty seven inches around tho naked
chest Ho used liquors or tobacco and was fas
had never, to Mr.. Lewis knowledge boon sick. The
treatment Of his tooth. SO far Mr.. Lewis knows.
Mr. Gardiner sent for his friend who went at once
to his boarding house and found him suffering ap-
parently from liberated tooth. On Sunday the
supposed ulcer broke. yielding yeowish fluid and
an offensive smell! Mr. Lewis says he then found
that Mr.. Gardeners tongue rigid and curled up.
and that 1t reclaimed this position while he lived.
AN AWFUL DEATH.
mo man." said Mr.. Lewis. ''over died so awful q
death as Gardiner. Tho connection between the
head and body excepting the spine. eaten away
by the poison. The decayed matter sloughed away
SO that four missions had to be made to keep his
throat clear. Through these incisons drew out
the sloughed parts like soft gum and broke them
off, In treating such cases. OF the last resorts Of
ply stefan is to administer lachesis rattlesnake
poison. While that treatment being tried on
Gardiner took two pieces of the sloughed parts to
a chemist for analysis, and by this analysis the
presence of arsenic was proved
Mr.. Lewis refused to tell for the present who the
chemist was who had made the analysis, saying
that the chemist did not desire that his should
be used unless legal proceedings should be insti.
tuted. Such proceedings. he declared, he intended
to begin ii he should learn that any one pecu-
niariiy responsible. He said. further. that Mr..
piece of paper held before him. II leave you Lewis,
to stand between my family and the world"
THE ATTENDING PHYSICIANS STATEMENT.
Dr. Guy told what he knew OF the readily.
declaring that in his opinion death was the
"h al and ne SUPPOSED from what he had
Of that the arsenic was introduced into tho
system by the treatment Of the tooth When he
was called In the poison had been actually absorbed
and the patient in such condition that no
positive reaction could take place, although he
u Of clean system and great strength and
rallied several times only to sink lower after each
rally. Dr. Guy satisfied that it was arsenic
which had caused the trouble by his observation Of
the symptoms. Those the sudden swelling
Che color and peculiar uneasiness OF tho patient
in connection with his phagedenic condition. This,
he explained the stage preceding the setting
| of gangrcne. 'The right side OF the head and neck
called in he said land there was erosion OF the
mucous membrane. remained with the patient all
night and spent four or hvo hours . day with him
tired from general practice, and only undertook
such cases as he was urged by his friends
stefan and had treated this case homGopathically.
but he had engaged in other business after giving
marked" he continued. "and the muscles of the
face and throat grew rigid that the teeth could
arsenic which suppose to have been placed in the
tooth. was probably taken from tho cavity by the
saliva and absorbed into tho system. man could
swallow. without harm. i've or six times
as much would kill him IL absorbed into
the system. The poisonous action was so malignant
| and the inflammation so intense that the trouble
seemed like erysipelas. though Mr.. Gardiner was
not tainted with that disease. A form OF eryspelas
was setting In a result of the poisoning. but
allayed that He thought his trouble malarial,
he had had attack of malaria two years before,
but the symptoms which looked like those OF mala-
may be accounted tor by the efforts of his sys-
tenn throw of the poison. As the progressed
his face engorgcd with blood. his tissues decom-
posed and the grangrenous matter was absorbed"
| Dr. Guy said he had called in DIR. 4. 4. Richard
son. OF Brooklyn, and DIR. Holmuth, of New York.
in consultation. and that they had agreed with him
in his diagnosis. This DIR. Richardson denied say
ing that he called in, but only two days before
death. and the patient was not then In condition in
which IL possible to determine the of ILL
ness. He had therefore passed opinion on the
question how the disease came about. DIR. Guy OK
planned that DR.. Hcmuth had agreed with him on
the strength of his history OF the and it's
symptoms, not having an opportunity to examine
the case early enough to decide the symptoms for
himself.
COMMON Arsenic.
A to the OF arsenic in filling teeth DIR. Guy
said he familiar with 1t, and knew considerabl Q
or tho practice of dentists. as his dentist
Arsenic was commonly used. and was dangerous