St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-05
Modern Dentistry Considerable Factor
in the Gold Consuming Processes
of Civilization.
An Authority Says Nearly Seventeen Hun
dred Pounds of the Metal are Con-
sumed Each Year.
One of the Profession Talks on the
Subject and Gives Practical
illustrations.
Sculptured Likenesses of the Mouths
ofSome ofSt. Paul's Best-Known
Citizens.

hours in a dentists chair and watched his
little steel point pick up piece after piece of
the finely rolled gold and pack it away in
some hollow tooth, wniiG the gentle taps Of
the small hammer which drives il into posi-
ton, seem like heavy sledge blows against
his whole nervous system, will have no seri-
FOus doubt of the truth of the remark made
to GLOBE reporter by well known den
fist that the amount of gold. not returnable
in any form, that the dentists of the country
annually use up, is bound to cut a consider
able figure in the visible gold supply of the
country.
And it is growing each year." continued
the dentist, for later and most satisfactory
processes of treating the teeth are of such
a nature that large quantity is used in the
! dentists Office. Come inside and / will
show you some of the samples of the
work that uses up the gold, for though
much is used in filling, it is not this that
uses up the gold"
a first look at two or three sets of artifi-
cial jaws, with teeth knocked out here and
there, and the substitutions made by the
sllillful hand of the dentist was all that
was necessary to convince any one that
modern dentistry is making considerable
draft on the gold mines of the country. The
i dentist took what looked like "a complete set
!
apart. One tooth came out by itself, and
revealed a complete covering of gold at
the base. Two more came together, con-
nected by bar of gold that must have
been of the weight of a gold dollar.
and after these two more that had a gold
bar connecting them with strips of the
precious metal branching TO each side, that
formed a sort of brace or hook against the
other teeth to hold the former firmly in po-
sitiOn. One tooth was
CAPPED WITH GOLD
and the observer could see only what
! looked like a solid metallic tooth and would
never suspect that it covered several big
roots that had lost their power to ache, been
filled with cement, and in place of the nat
ural enamel. been forced to do duty under
a saffron shield of twenty-five carat gold.
There must have been more than enough
of the precious metal 10 have made a
double eagle, hammered and welded and
wedged into those teeth.
You see" said the wielder of the for
ceps and other instruments of torture. ''all
this gold is a dead loss when once it is put
into the mans mouth. for when he dies il
would hardly be considered the correct thing
for relatives and friends to take the trouble
TO remove it, and SO unless in some future
age the cemeteries are OverhGuled, and the
sand sifted. by men vino think they have
found a mine, it will never be returned to
future circulation. Why there must be
more gold in some of the grave yards of
this country than i'm an Arizona mine"
As the dentist became warmed with his
| theme he became somewhat confding in
his demonstration and volunteered TO show
the GLOBE man the models on which he
was doing work for some prominent ST.
| Paul people.
This is the exact form of the inside of
Mr.. G-'s mouth" said he, producing a
chunk of plaster of Paris the size of q puff
ball, and mentioning the name of one of
ST. Pauls
BEST KNOWN MEN.
1t was the model which had been made
| that the dentist might know just how to
| hammer the metal so that it would fit. 1t
would be mean TO describe il, but the dent
list said that he should put some fifty or
more dollars worth of gold into the teeth he
was TO make for the distinguished ST. Paul
lite. ''This piece of plaster" said the dent
| list, picking up another, lis the model for
---," and he mentioned the name
of well-known horse man. He seemed to
remember TO which each of his collection
belonged, and dozen or more were shown
the reporter, the dentist giving the owner
of each. They would have been rare prey
for the relic hunter and a half century
hence, correctly labeled and put on little
brackets in a case, would make Interesting
souvenirs of the men who have been
the instruments in building st. Paul
from village TO metropolis. There were
many shapes and sizes of mouth, indicated
by the little chunks of plaster OF paris
There was one, the matriX, as it were, of a
former senator's mouth. Four big teeth
were gone and the dentist said the man had
! chewed tobacco good deal and the grit in
the leaves had worn off the remaining mo
lars. 1t was a touching thought that here
| in the small rear office of a dentist I'M
known TO fame, should be stamped i'm the
unyielding substance as indelibly as if
craven on a marble tablet, the record of a
great mans weakness.
''HOw much gold is used each year in the
United States by dentists, do you estimator"
asked the reporter.
Il do not know-cannot even guess"
replied the dentist, and nobody can
tell exactly, but no man in the
country can give a closer estimate
than Mr.. White, manager of the S. 5.
White Dental Manufacturing company of
| Philadelphia. He is as well informed on
such matters as any man in the country,
and any figures he could give you would be
rs valuable as those obtained from any
source"
Somewhat curious in the matter the re-
porter communicated with Mr.. J. w.
White, the gentleman alluded to above, and
has received from him the following:
Mr.. WHITES ESTIMATE.
There is no positive knowledge on the
subject, but, from the best estimates we
know how to make, we should say about
20. 600 ounces Troy per year. Yours re-
spectfully. j. W. WHITE.
On this basis then, there are used up, put
out of sight, not to be worked over as old
gold, 1868 pounds of the precious metal.
And, as the dentist said, the quantity is on
the increase, for the newer processes re-
quire more gold. and people are gradually
coming TO have more teeth filled every
| year.
LIT is true" said the dentist during the
conversation given above, THAT people are
becoming more sensible in the matter of car
ing for the teeth, and there is more filling
! and less extraction in the business each
year. And particularly is this the case in
| St. Paul. The work OF the dentists here is
| largely mechanical sO-called and there is
| comparatively little extraction done There
! is a difference between the people here and
| those in Minneapolis, as / know from the
work of the profession there. A conse-
quence of this fact is that fewer sets of az
! tificial teeth are needed here, and there are
dentists in the city who make no preten-
sions to doing this sort of work. so slight is
the demand for it. The upbuilding of old
moIars with gold, crowning and Gaping
them, is consequently larger"
''Do dentists charge eXOrbitant prices?
No, don't think they do. Their work is
very extensive oftentlmeS. and ii their time