The evening world., 1888-02-18

crowded 10 the WALL
Then you believe that what you call the
old-school practitioners do not understand
their business ?" was asked.
Exactly. They are simply mechanical
and often very bungling ones at that, while
the new-school dentists go about their busd-
ness in O rational and scientific manner. For
instance, you will very. seldom ind an old.
timer who does not advise o patient to let
him put gold filling in his teeth, and for that
reason l would call them nothing more nor
less than expert jewellers, a.
Now q gold filling is all very well in ts
place. but in many cases 1t is worse than use
less. Apparently their only anxiety in giving
their patients this sort of advice is TO enable
them to charge big bills. In fact the old
fashioned dentists are VIGOROUSLY costly, and
when one considers the service he sometimes
receives in return for the exorbitant sums he
pays out it is really outrageous. Now. the
matter of gold filings illustrates this clearly
enough"
How so ?"
why, by showing that a tooth should be
treated according to its needs. 1t is espe-
cially dangerous to fill a large cavity with
gold on account of the pounding and ham
mering necessary to secure IT. BY tine time
face of the cavity is soft and pulpy, which
readily absorbs the moisture of the mouth
and in a short time will destroy the tooth and
cause the filling to drop out. This has been
luo VI uh oAAAb ~
people, who, when they have gone back to
their dentists for an explanation. have been
told that their teeth were soft and could not
have been saved any way. or course,
saved the tooth every time probably. and,
besides that, the unfortunate victim would
have been saved the expense of a gold filing.
For my. part, l would prefer to pay double
save q tooth, rather than lose it. and l think
most people would say the same thing if they
understood the real situation"
-" Undoubtedly; but DO You think the pub-'
lie are learning TO appreciate this 7"
''Yes. 1 do. Although there are still q
great many who believe it is not the correct
thing to have anything but gold in their
mouths. Another thing, how@er, which is
is the popular belief that whenever a tooth
has once liberated the only course to pursue
ia to have it out at once. Now. there ID no idea
which a is more fallacious than this, for 1t is
coveries in dental science that the tooth may
be treated pathologically and surgicaily Just
the same as any other part of the human
body. l make it a practice never to extract Q
tooth so long as there is anything LETT TO build
upon. 1t is sometimes necessary to treat .
tooth that is very far gone for three or four
weeks before it is in q condition to fill. but #
the treatment is kept up long enough it viii
seldom fail of success in the end. When tho
nerve in the tooth is extinct the treatment
tremity, thoroughly cleanse and disinfect il
and then wait for it to heal. The operation
seems, to describe it, as if it might be AZ
reality almost painless. Of course it is q very
delicate one, especially in the case of o big
molar with two or three roots, and re-
quires the exercise of the utmost care and
skill in manipulation, for if the shell
should be pierced in the operation Il
would be good.by tooth. After it has
healed sufficiently the roots and cavity
are filled, usually with some soft filing, and
the work has been properly lone will never
give its owner any trouble afterwards If he
takes care of it., Patients have often como to
me with their faces horribly swollen and dis
torted by a raging tooth, and begged me to
dissuading them from their purpose they
have always thanked me for it."