Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1886-09-23
SECRETS OF DENTISTRY.
Nearly -Four Hundred Per Cent. rrofit
Realized on a Set of False Teeth.


Realized on "A Set of False Teeth
1t has been carefully estimated that
an individual in the higher walk of
life, when he or she reaches the age of
seventy, will have pad no less than
$500 for the preservation of their nat
ural teeth and the requirement of arti-
ficial ones. This fact should encourage
young men in the study of dentistry.
One afternoon last week, l met a
friend, a dentist who, beng in a conf
dental mood, consented to talk of the
profession of which he is shining
ornament. He said:
"Dcntistry is not what it is cracked
up to be, and, although it pays big
profits, many bills for work done are
not colectablc. For this reason honest
men and women are compelled TO sui
fer for the transgrcssion of dead beats.
j have friend who recently sold set
Of teeth for $50 which cost him eX-
actly SlG.20. BY a set of teeth
L mean upper and lower sets.
The teeth mentioned above were sci on
the patient $50 and the dentist so.
The prices given are average ones.
Some dentists who serve the best pao-
pie ask even higher rates. All dentists
claim to do their mechanical work on
their premises. This is not so. Less
than Onc-half of the dentists in Brook
Ign do their own work or employ me
chanical men by the week. A larger
part OF the work claimed to he done 10y
local dentists is performed by half a
dozen mechanical dentists who make
specially of that branch of the bust
ness"
What are mechanical dentists paid
for their seryicc5?' | asked.
Eight dollars per set, which in
ciudes upper and lower. The dentist
so contracting for the work is Obliged
to furnish the teeth, which usually cost
from 81 to SIS per double set. Plain
teeth ar worth ten cents and gum
teeth fifteen cents each. The
best teeth are made in Philadel-
phla. Dentists try to convince their
patients that teeth are very expensive,
and that to make an upper and lower
set takes two or three days. This is
all humbug. A mechanical dentist
who is a good workman can make
three sets in twcnty-foUr hours. You
can see by the foregoing figures that
patients pa good round prices for a
man 5 name or reputation. Dentists
who employ mechanical men make Il
plaster paris cast Of their patients jaw
so as 10 get the articulation, or fitting
of the teeth, correct. These casts cost
about five cents each. and whcn made
are sent to the dental laboratories
where the remainder of the work is
done.
'.Do women make success of dem
tis,ry?'
Not always. The feminine mind is
sometimes unable to grasp its ;ntrica-
cies. Many women dentists practice
their profession in New York. They
are usually discouraged in their at
tempts to study dentistry, as close as
ISOLATION with male students has often
unpleasant results. The only plan
which | think would work satisfactorily
would be to separate the sexes in den
tai colleges. This plan has shown
good results i'm medical schools. More
N'i'Sh ,ChliSto piiN'itC iHcii 'lOiCo-
sion in Europe than in America.
How are Sl2 set teeth, made
while you wait, manufacturcd?'
'.1n almost the same manner that
$50 sets are male. A mechanical den
list would charge the same price (SS)
for making a $l2 set of teeth as he
would for a higher priced set. Den
fists however, who make tech at the
rate named always do their own work
In cheap upper and lower sets of teeth
the teeth cost 81. while in the higher
priced sets the teeth are worth but s.
more. In cheap sets the only addi-
tional expense is for rubber and plas-
tel. The latter is worth, possibly, five
cents and the rubber twenty-five. The
materials used in dentistry cost but lit
tie. 1t is the work and skill for which
the patient is obliged to pay. You
will excuse me-" said my informant.
looking at his watch, "as l have an
engagement at my Office at this honr.n
A laboratory can be fitted up with all
the necessary tools for the practice of
dentistry at a cost of from $500 20 S400.
-Bro0kiym Edgle.