St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-10-13
DECAY or The rGErn.


OF Dental Carries.
From the beginning the etiology Of
dental carries has been . vexed ques-
tion. and has attracted much attention
and study, but till late years with few
valuable results. To DR.. w. d. Miller.
Of Berlin, Germany, an American, be-
longs the credit Of solving the problem
and Of giving TO the profession : theory
Of dental carries. 90 well founded oa
carefully-devised experiment. and
study that 1t u hardly questioned at
the present day. In brief, it ID that it
Is the work Of bacteria and tllalr fer
ment powers.
To understand the germ thpsry .
few general remarks on hacteria
(fungD seems necessary. and ~ com.
mence with them. Bacteria aee the
smallest Of known organized beings,
and throughout the borderland divid-
ing animals from plants. they 40 now
generally recognized ~ vegiables.
They vary in size from 1.l00. % to
l-l25 Of an inch. The smalle4 can
not be measured. They are icel-
lular plants-that is to say. lants
composed Of one cell. They mEiply
In both ways-by division and the
formation Of germs. In the mee
case the cell first elougates. hen,
when 1t has doubled its length. sep.
arates into two parts. each be q In
all respects like the parent eel and
this method Of growth goes onfcon-
tinually. In the formation Of q pres.
the contents Of q cell, instesd Of Md
ing. contracts on itself, formilk .
spor or seed. Generally but oneDpor
is thus formed. but at times from four
to six may be thus developed. \ The
spors are analogous to seeds ii the
higher plants. Their most pronounced
characteristic being their great vital.
ity. they resist greater extremes Of
temperature and stronger acids and
alkalis than the bacteria themselves,
and in all ways are more difiicult to
destroy. As animals have waste pred
ucts SO have plants and they are no
more q popularity OF the one than Of
the other. Among the waste products
Of plant life may be named the woody
6ber, the leaves that drop in the fall
the alkaloids. like strychnis, gummy
exudati0ns. resins, etc. It is q mooted
question II the waste products Of
pathogenic bacteria are not the prinss
causes Of the diseases they create.
Koch. the distinguished pathologist
and bacteriologist Of Berlin, lays down
four postulates to be observed in de-
termining whether a given micro
organism Is the cause Of q given dis.
ease:
l. The fungi must be found in tde'
blood. lymph. or In the dead body Of
the animal affected.
2. The fungi 50 found must be iso-
lated and cultivated outside the animal
body and through successive genera
tions.
s. A pure cultivation thus obtained
must, when introduced into the body
OF q healthy animal. produce the dis
ease in question.
4. In the inoculated animal. the
same micro-organism must again be
found.
These laws were intended BY Koch
to apply to pathogenic bacteria which
are parasitic in their nature-that Is,
live on. or in. living animals; but they
are just as valuable in referring to
saprogenic bacteria-those that live on
dead animal or plant material-tO
which latter class the bacteria OF dental
carries decay belong. DR.. Miller asks
no favors. and wants the same rigid
laws to apply to his theory.
Before taking up his study, DR.. Mil.
ler was we'll aware Of the fermenting
powers Of the pytaline Of the saliva.
an unorganized ferment, and also that
the mouth was rare garden for the
growth and propagation of bacteria;
but a. temperature Of 81 deg. Cent.
destroys pytaline and did not bacteria,
and as . weak solution Of carbolic
acid or stronger one OF ether de-
stroys bacteria, he soon found that the
acid producing ferment in the mouth
was capable Of reproducing itself
was an organized ferment-a species
Of bacteria. It was also known that the
tubules in carious teeth were filed with
heterogeneous DR.. Miller obtained
pure cultures Of the bacteria from the
mouth and from the deeper portions of
decayed teeth. and in tubes containing
these cultures, mixed with a ferment-
able material (sugar) placed several
pieces of sound teeth. These, after
from two to three or four weeks, were
found to be softened. and microscopic
examination showed the same physical
characteristics as natural caries-the
distended tubules filled with micro
organisms. Artificial carries had thus
been produced. and Koch's demands
were satisfied.
Carries decay Of teeth) means that
the teeth are destroyed by an acid pro-
duced in the mouth by the ierment
powers OF bacteria, sugar and starch
being indirect, but powerful factors in
the work OF destruction. To dentist
and patient the theory emphasizes
tho necessity Of cleanliness. The
brush, the pick and the floss silk must
be constantly used. especially on retir-
ing at night. Antiseptics are valuable
auxiliaries, but that is all.-6c0rgc 5
allan. in Boston Herald.
Some one interested in stirring up
English alarms has discovered in the
memoirs OF Marshal Ney a record Of
the fact that in 1895. when Napoleon,
designing the invasion of England,
gathered an army at Boulogne, it was