The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-23
MAINE DENTAL SOCIETY,
Final Session and Election of officers for
the Coming Year.

Or. f. H. Fales Of Waterville rend a
Daper on "Thoroughness in the Treat
ment and Filling OF Bicuspids and Mo-
lars"
Dr.. j. A. Spalding OF Portland read a
very interesting paper on the relation be-
tween dentists and opticians.
DR.. H. A. Kelley of Portland read n
perer on "What Dentistry Owes the Peo-
Yle."
All the papers were discussed by the
memb ers of the society.
Tue following officers were elected for
the ensuing year:
Presilent-F. A. Burnham, Saco.
Vice President-Geo. o. Mitchell,
Bucksport.
J'reasurer-E,J j. Roberts. Augusta.
MISUNDERSTANDING Bacon, Portland.
Executive Oommittee-F. W. Ration,
Gardiner; Il. A. Kelley, Portland; j. S.
Strickland, Bangor; b. Fl. Moore, Calais
3. Ii. Fales, Waseryille
1t was voted to hold the next meeting
of the society in Gardiner.
The State Board of Dental Examiners
met in the afternoon for the examination
of applicants to practice dentistry.
At noon DR.. Fillebrown, at the Maine
Eye and Ear Infirmary, performed an
interesting operation on a patient VINO
hadsa cleft palate.
DR.. J. A. Spalding of Portland read
brief paper on '"Some Relations Between
the Dentist and tho Oculist. -
The chief aim of the paper was to call
attention to the often forgotten fact, that
there are many diseases of the eye which
are Einduenoed decidedly and undoubted-
ly by diseased conditions Of the teeth.
The proof of this lies in the cure OF the
eye disease being unfulfilled until proper
care has been given to the teeth. Those
that can be- saved should be filed, whilst
those that are too far gone for this pro-
cess should be carefully and skillfully
extracted Several cases of this reflex
relation between the eyes and the teeth
from DR.. Spalding's practice were relat-
ed in brief
Stress was likewise laid on care In ex-
traction Of teeth, even where there was
no eye disease because such disease
had been observed with destructive effect
on the sight owing to careless fracture
of the teeth or jaw during extraction.
Additionally, the essayist showed that
there had been cases recorded in which
severe dontal neuralgia had been long
and unsuccessfully treated until the eyes
had been carefully fitted to the proper
glasses, by an expert ooulist, when the
neuralgia was cured.
The next point to which attention was
drawn was the rise Of the dental profes-
sion and its elevation into an expert spec
ialty. Formerly the teeth were looked
out for in an Cffhand fashion by the gen.
eral practitioner of med cine. But grad
ually they saw the necessity for deeper
study of the teeth and some Of them be-
came dentists, while others urged men
of education to give special atten ton to
the teeth. Their argument was that the
teeth ought to be saved for prolonged use
and beauty, and then again for the
maintenance of the health of the people.
For, the better our teeth, the more per
feet our mastioation, the better our di
gestion, and finally the better our health
Following out this train Of tho ught,
that the teeth ought not to be submitted
to any but skilled specialists in diseases
Of those structures, DR.. Spalding expressed
the opinion that people made a grievouG
mistake in permitting non-medioal men
to test their eyes. Testing is one thing,
put examining them to see If they are
healthy or diseased is another and more
important affair. With apparatus at our
command, we can see the interior of the
eye, and in all cases of eye strain, head.
ache. apparent loss of sight, for far OF
near, the interior should be seen and the
patient should not be satisfied to try II
glasses salone were of use, for disease
could not be treated by glasses alone but
by proper remedies.
All medical men including the dental
profession should endeavor to impress
this fact as important as examination OF
the teeth
In conclusion, the paper called atten-
ton to eye strains imposed upon dentists
IN the exercise of their profession, and
urged in cases of headache, nervousness,
sleeplessness and Other. symptoms of over
work careful testing and thorough ex-
animation of the eyes,