The San Francisco call., 1897-01-23
A Radiograph Taken From the
Inside of the Mouth, Showing
Molar Teeth and Portions of
the Jaws.

use of the K ray in dentistry. The doctors
of dental science have hardly begun the
use of the x ray yet, though many OF the
progressive dentists are taking very keen
speculative interest in the matter and
before long it will likely become usual
thing for patient with an aching and
swollen jaw to sit for a view of his ache
before the dentist goes to work.
Some efforts had already been made
here to get photographs or "skiographs,"
as they are coming to be termed, of the
teeth and jaws, but they were taken
through the entire face at various angles,
the Crookes tube and the Photographic
plates being on opposite sides of the head.
By this method one jaw naturally inter-
fered with another, and Professor r. Leo
Van der Nailen conceived the plan of
putting the plates inside the mouth and
sending the rays to them through a single
cheek and jaw.
1t isn't much of a Photographic plate
that man can stick in his mouth, and as
plates have never been cut to fit the hu-
man mouth used as a camera, size and
shape had to wait on experience. How
ever, glass Photographic plates about an
inch and a half long were cut in a dark
room, in varied sizes and shapes, and
then wrapped in black paper to protect
them from the light. They were then
wrapped in oiled paper 20 protect them
against the moisture of the mouth, the
paTer constituting a plate holder i'm
pervious TO light but transparent to the
K rays.
Thus prepared plate was set on edge
next to the molars OF a large-mouthed
student, the plate standing on the floor of
the mouth against the tongue with the film
side of the plate toward the cheek. Then
a Crookes tube was set going within three
inches of the cheek, the head being braced
to stiffness by box on the table. An
exposure of but minute and a quarter
served to fix on the plate vivid and clear
shadowgraph of the back teeth and jaw.
One upper molar had Oeen extracted and
the opposite lower molar had been broken
off just below the gum. The gums, trans
parent to the rays, like the cheek showed
family about the jaw bones, and the roots
of the teeth even with this quick exposure
showed family through the less dense
. bone of the Jaws. This plate was princi-
pally interesting in that it was a view of
mans back teeth from the inside of his
mouth when it was shut, point of view
from which a man never saw his teeth
before. 1t was like looking out from a
cavern.
By changing the angle of view the roots
of the teeth were better presented o the
plate, and with a longer exposure they
were quite clearly outlined through the
jawbone. Aside from the buried root the
only result of pathological interest was a
revelation OF necrosis of the bone in the
upper jaw. The experiments showed that
the x ray is peculiarly adapted to den
tistry. and that by the method of putting
the Photographic plates inside the mouth
.perfecr photographs of the teeth and Jaws
may be obtained. An advance on the use
OF little glass plates was quickly made by
substituting q piece of roller film. cut to
the size of piece OF flexible caro- board.
which could be bent and yet give the
necessary rigidity.
This ingenious plan suggests that
piece of film can be inserted into the
throat and even into the stomach, and if
the right position behind a diseased spot
can be secured and the rays turned on
from the outside a clear view OF tumor,
of a solid object in the windpipe, etc., can
be obtained.
Dr. C. w. Decker and DR.. Russell d.
\. Cool are among the dentists who are
taking lively theore retical interest in the
application OF the x ray 20 dentistry.
DR.. Philip Mills Jones recently stimulated
this interest by a lecture on the subject
before the Stomatological Club. So far the
K ray has been tried but once in actual
practice here, and that case was very
Interesting one, occurring three weeks