Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1905-09-14
OLD TIME DENTISTRY.
Hueer knstrurnsnts En Harvard Dcn-
tai Schools Collection.


tai Schools Collection.
Like many other Of the new" pro
fessions, dentistry is a very cid one.
1t is known that 400 years before the
beginning of the Christian era Egyp-
tian dentists filed teeth with gold, but
no trace Of their methods of doing their
work has ever been found. Aescula-
Plus, the patron of physicians, was the
first famous dentist in Roman history,
and the old Romans used toothpick
very much like the little wooden one
that is made today. The Arabians
ages ago produced dentifrice, but 1t
soon seemed to be very generally used.
The story Of dentistry is told in the
instruments it has employed. As they
are known today they had their be-
ginning in the sixteenth century, but
their evolution has been slow. In the
Harvard Dental school in Boston there
is collection of instruments used by
dentists in the first half of the last cen
fury. One of the formidable tools it
includes is what was called key,
doubtless from it's peculiar shape,
which was used for extracting teeth,
the process being to slowly and pain
fully twist and Pry the offending molar
out of its place. In order that no mis-
take should be made the dentist began
operations by hammering and prod
ding one tooth after another with
sort of bludgeon until he had satisfied
himself-not to mention the tortured
patient-that he had found the most
sensitive one and therefore the most
likely candidate for extraction.
The grandfathers OF the delicate steel
tools that lie in rows on the modern
dentists table were small in number,
but large In awfulness. There are in
the Harvard collection chisels and NAL
lets, rude forceps for removing the
teeth. miniature erowbars used to re-
pair cavities for fixing, filos for sharp
ening the cutting and grinding sur
faces of teeth and one particularly
horrid instrument known as the pei
lean, with which teeth were Gifted"
How rapidly and recently dentistry
has become one of the important
sciences appears In the fact that In
the middle of the last century black
smiths were doing their best-or worst
to relieve the victims of the tooth
ache, while today institutions like the
Harvard Dental school attract stu
dents from all over the world. Be
sides while It was sure torture to go
to the dentist in the so called good
old days" such visit now is COM
paratively comfortable, 80 far has the
profession gone in the direction OF per
forming its operations without caus-
Inc main.
An Interesting Experiment..
A vessel containing n certain white
powder is placed upon the table, when
the operator advances, waving his
wand and uttering some magic words
coined by himself, when, 10, of a sud |
den the room is lighted up with bril- |
liant light, 50 effulgent that it dims the |
eyes of the spectators. The secret is
this: The powder Is composed OF equal |
weights of loaf sugar and chlorate of
potash, separately reduced.to fine pow
der and then we'll mixed together. This /
is placed in n cup, and when the pow
der is touched with the least drop of
sulphuric acid II Will instantly burst |
into a flame The end of the glass rod /
should be dipped in the acid immediate
ly before use.
Horrible.
St Peter-You married for money.
believe? Fair Splrit-Y-e-s. st. Peter