The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-07-09
TWENTY MILLION FALSE TEETH.
Use of Precious Metals and Electricity IN
Modern Dentistry.


THE man or woman who ia much troubled
over the necessity Of having ar artificial tooth
inserted" said dentist may take conscla-
ton from the fact that there are about 2O.O0O,-
600 OF such teeth manufactured and sold an
nually in the United States. allowing on an
average one artificial tooth every four years to
each man. woman and child in tho country.
ON the authority Of the greatest manufac-
turer OF dental supplies in the country. 10000
ounces Of pure gold are worked UP annually for
use in filing teeth. in plates and soldiers. the
value Of this gold approXimating S1,OOO,OOO.
In addition there are about 10000 ounces Of
platinum used annually by the various manu-
facturers OF porcelain teeth. to say nothing Of
the large amount OF silver amagam prepared
for inconspicuous filings. such as those in the
back teeth. Tho number OF practitioners
has steadily increased, until now there are
2O.422 dentists in the United States. Even
the little towns Of Alaska have their dentists,
there being nine engaged in practice in the Ter
ritory. The majority OF these men cannot have
very much to do because 2O. 400. 900 false teeth
and 81 100000 worth Of gold for filings. &c,
divided between 2O.422 dentists allows only
about 900 teeth and n little less than $40
worth Of gold year to each dentist. As the
popular practitioners in large cities use many
times these amounts. many Of them earning
from $4,000 to SD. 900 year in the practice Of
their profession. it will readily be seen that n
good many Of the smaller ones must fall far
below the annual average.
THE use OF electricity has worked wonders
IN dentistry. Until the discovery of the Y RAYS
it was often necessary to remove a tooth in or
der to learn the nature Of som" trOubl" at the
root: hut now the root and portion OF the
Jawhone nav lie pilot ograrhcd by means Of
the RuentEcn rays. the cause Of the trouble
located and the tooth generally saved The av-
u r.
of what is called dental cataphor"Ss to be Of
far greater tmrortnnce to him reasonably. be-
pain. tntaphorcSls il the process Of driving
anmsth"tcs INTO tn" bone tissue, or d"nrir". 10y
to tn" cavity itself. The method IS rather in
tcrrss,inG The cavity il first cleansGd as thor.
oughIy rs possible without causing discomfort
10 the patient and i then closed with plug of
cotton Just large enough I" Ill l. with ut un-
IS pac%G IN thS m % hand Of III" pa
tent. who is required to grip 1t Just tight
enough to secure good connection, The anms-
thcti" To hc used Is drawn into the barrel OF the
syringe and injected into The cotton. The cur
rent is then turned on and gradually, increased
tin the proper amount Is reached. lfcomplote
insulation Is secured. III" process iS not accom-
| panied bv sensation Of any sind and the, sub
without apprcriahic pain. Without the aid Of
cataphorcsis, however, there is ~ such thing
as good workmanship in PAINLESS dentistry.
" But the new cGtarhori" blcarhng is even
current OF electricity in a way similar to that
in which an anaSthctic is driven into sensitive
dentine. Even tooth that has become very
much discolored ns n result OF the improper
treatment of 4 dead nerve may be rendered
beautifully white by this means. In fact. cleo
trcity ia now used by ia" np;to-dat" dentist
for nearly everything connected with his work.
1t is used for killing nerves i rrprcls the
trca'll" for cutting and tho mallet for filling:
while light is supplied to the mouth lamp and
heat 10 the hot air syring" by the same means.
The dentist Of twenty-five or even ten
years ago. who had not kept abreast Of the
times would hardly know what to make Of the
TONER'S operating room tn" S'"riliZ"r, for in
stance. into which every instrument Is placed
after being uscd. il now Ousld"rrd as noc"S
sary part Of tn" Ollie" turnitur" as the trcnhle
or the hydraulic chair. The certainty that
every instrument put into the mouth has been
thoroughly stcrilizcd since being previously
used means great deal to n sensitive patient.
4" II dentistry improves prouortionatcly dur
ing the next nifty years ne il has during the
last decade by tho middle OF the twentieth
century women will look upon a visit to the
dentist with no greater dread than IL now in
splred 10y the prospect OF shopping tour. 1t
is probable. too, that artificial teeth will be-
Even now the blush white teeth so COM
mon few wears ago are seldom seem and
the porcelain filings which nre daily grow
ing in popularity are so identical in tint and
appearance with tho teeth of which they form
Il part that their presence can hardly be de-
tectrd. Their preparation and insertion. how
ever, require considerable skill. They are
generally first shaped TO the cavity. then baked,
g'a2ed and carefully inserted. Tho superior
beauty OF these filings over the conspicuous
gold ones is apparent to the people most con-
servativc in adopting new ideas"