Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-07
A TALK ABOUT DENTISTRY
HOW THE BUSINESS is IN
CREASING.

CREASING.
six Million Artificial Teeth Produced
Annually, and Three Quarters of
Ton of Gold Used in the Practice-Na-
lures Machinery Gives Way to the
Products of Mans Genius-Facts of
Interest Gathered in the Operating
Room.
A MORNING News reporter dropped in
to the dental Office of DR.. A. HI. Best on
Congress street yesterday to obtain a
point or two about the business. The
Doctor was busily engaged, but consented
to a short talk, and gave the reporter
some interesting facts about the profess
sion, which has made rapid strides during
the past dec ade.
500 as many people wear artificial
teeth as formerly?" queried the NEWS
man as he dropped into an inviting chair.
The Doctor answered in the negative,
and added ''The increasing number of
skilled operators renders it possible to
save teeth even under very unfaYOrable
circumstances, and as patients always
prefer their own teeth to artificial ones, a
large number of teeth are now preserved
that would have been sacrificed even so
late as ten years ago. To give you some idea
]
mention that in this country alone about
1000 pounds, three-tOurths of a ton, OF
pure gold is used in the manufacture of
filling material annually. Perhaps five
times as many teeth are filled with other
material, such as amalgam, white cement,
guttapercha, etc. A large quantity of
gold is also used for mounting artificial
teeth and attaching cTonws to natural
roots"
SIS this attaching of artificial crowns
| to the roots of natural teeth new feature
| in dentistryT
practically, it is. The idea is old, but
a majority of the methods now employed,
combining prospect of permanence with
natural effect, are of recent invention"
SHOW are the crowns secured in posi-
| tionp'
A DELICATE OPERATION.
s'The operation involves the use Of a small
screw or stud made of gold wire, which
is securely affixed to the root, and to which
the crown is firmly attached. There are
also many tooth crowns merely stuck on
with amalgam. The operation is easier,
but they are far from being so strong,
durable, or perfect in appearance as those
fastened in by the gold screw
''But is not this very painful opera
tion?"
''By no means. If it is skillfully per-
formed the crown may be adjusted with
little or no pain"
SIS the artificial character of the device
| apparent~
ssWhen proper care has been exercised
in the selection and adjustment of the
crown it defies detection. The beauty Of
the process is that almost any number of
crowns can be inserted when the roots
are healthy or susceptible of being made
so by treatment. In special cases, one or
more crowns can be attached to single
root; whole sets of teeth have frequently
been successfully attached to four healthy
roots. On the other hand, some of our
best operators often build in crowns when
! there are nc roots at all.'
''How is that Accomplished
''They are built into the adjoining teeth,
| and although it is delicate piece of work,
if skillfully executed, it dispenses entirely
with plate.'
"But is not such an operation accom-
panied with great suffering to the pa
tientP'
''NOt necessarily. 1t is usually resort
ed to when the adjoining teeth require
filling, and it is this operation that may
be incOnvenient, and not the adjustment
of the crown"
''DOes this operation do away with
plates?"
SIT does in some cases. In some cases,
however, it is impracticable."
$50 the old reliable plate fixture is still
in use to some eXtentT'
SIX MILLION TEETH.
ITO very great extent, and perhaps it
will be for many years to come. You may
form some estimate of the extent of this
business from the fact that single house
in this country produces annually about
6.2S2, 436 artificial teeth for plate work,
and 1O7, 312 tooth crowns for attaching to
natural roots. Besides this, there are
several other manufacturers in the Union,
three or four in England and one or two
in France"
''DO the teeth made in this country find
a ready market in EurOpe"'
Comparatively speaking, they do not.
There is in England at least a sentiment
in favor of the home made article. l can
not speak knowingly of the other cOun-
tries, but think some American teeth |
stand quite as well on the continent as
the English or the home productions"
''YOu have been doing business in En-
gland, DOctOrV
eyes, l practiced for some time in Lon
dom"
s'How are American dentists received |
in Europe, and are they permitted to prac- |
tice?''
''The time has been when an American |
dentist could practice his profession any
where in Europe, and enjoy a large and |
remuneratiVe business without much |
trouble. But America has been making |
dentists so rapidly and out of such ques- |
tionable material, that most European |
countries have legislated against them, |
in order to allow their own students, who |
have really attained a high standard of /
professional excellence, an opportunity to |
get into practice unencumbered by such |
competition"
SHOW does the profession standin those
countries ~
DENTISTRY IN EUROPE.
"In England and Spain dentistry is
recognized as a branch of medicine and |
surgery. In Spain, before a man can !
practice dentistry, he must pass a rigid |
examination in medicine, surgery, and |
collateral sciences, and be licensed by the |
Medical Council. In England it is neces- |
sary to obtain a degree from some one Of |
the educational institutions, such as the |
Royal College of Surgeons, which degree |
is registered by the Medical Council Of |
Great Britain"
care American qualifications register |
able in Englandp
sSThere are two institutions in this |
country whose graduates are permitted |
to register their degrees in dentistry and |
to practice. These are the University of |
Harvard and the University of Michigan. |
Graduates from other American colleges |
are not recognized as such by the Medical |
Council"
"But why are the other institutions not
recognizedp'
because their standard of graduation |
is thought too low. The University of |
Harvard requires three years Of progress |
sive study, that of Michigan three years Of |
pupilage, including two full courses of |
lectures, and each require preliminary |
examination. The time required by the |
other colleges is not deemed by the Eng |
lish authorities sufficient to make good /
dentists"
Show long do students in England de- |
vote to studies before they graduate?'
"Seven years, four of which they serve
as apprentices, the other three are spent |
at college. This is quite different from |
affairs in America; here dentists are /
sometimes turned loose on the community |
after only a few months study"
SIS the long time required in England |
absolutely necessaryY'
eyes; it is not too long. 1t is only by /
continued study and mature reflection |
that the real dentist is produced"
AMERICAN DENTISTS ABROAD.
GAS an American dentist did you find |