Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1907-11-14
A PORCELAIN FILLING
One Of the Dainty Operations In
Modern Dentistry.
THE WAY THE INLAY is MADE.

Fashioned In Fragile Gold Leaf, the
Matrix is Sunk BY Vibration In Semi
fluid Asbestus and the Mold When
Set Filled With Porcelain.
/ This was an upper front tooth that
had once been nicely filed with gold,
but fresh decay having set In around
that filling it had become necessary to
fill the tooth again This time, the
dentist said, he thought he would fill
1t with porcelain.
All the processes of making por-
celain inlay are interesting Having
drilled the cavity in the tooth to its
required depth and shape, the dentist
next proceeds to make matrix or
mold of 1t in gold foil, which he is
enabled to do without breaking this
delicate material by the use OF bit
of sponge between 1t and the crowd
/ ing tool. So he crowds the gold foil
down around within it everywhere to
fit into the cavity perfectly and gets
the depth all around the edge OF
the mold so exactly that the inlay to
/ be made in it when set into place will
not only fit perfectly in the cavity, but
fit into it with its edges flush all
around with the surrounding surface
of the tooth.
The mold thus made of the cavity in
| the tooth may look like the tiniest of
tiny gold cups or it may have some
irregular shape, according to the shape
of the cavity; but, whatever its shape
this mold Of gold foil is so slight and
thin that touch would crush it, and
| it seems indeed as if q breath would
blow it away, as probably it would,
and you may wonder how solid
piece of porcelain can ever be formed
in mold so frail and delicate, but it
is all really very simple, as you viii
see
Now the dentist takes a small me-
tallic holder about the size and shape
Of very small clam shell, which he
fills with powdered asbestus mixed
with water, and on top of this yield
| ing. material, handling it gently with
a pair of pliers, he sets the delicate
down, resting so on the surface of
the moistened powdered asbestus.
This holder has lip on one side of
It's edge, by which it can be lifted with
pair of pliers made for the purpose
and serving thus as a handle for it.
Lifting the little saucer now by this
handle, the operator rubs on the han
Al =
fiddle bow very gently back and forth
on the strings of fiddle. A lead PEN
ell might do for this, but he is likely
to use some professional tool with a
chased or engraved handle, whose IT.
regularities will heighten the effect,
and, rubbing gently with this on the
handle of the holder, he communicates
to it and to its contents and to the lit
tie gold mold on top continuous, gentle
vibrations, which, slight as they are.
still cause the mold gradually to settle
and imbed itself in the semiiuid mass
In the holder, and this without in the
slightest changing its shape These
vibrations are continued till the mold
has settled to the required depth, and
then the water is evaporated from the
asbestus, and there you have the little
gold mold firmly fmbedded in practi-
cally solid material and ready for use.
The inlay will be made in the mold
from a porcelain powder Porcelain
powders for dental use are made by |
the manufacturers of dental supplies |
in endless variety of shades, SO that |
it is easily possible to get a powder |
whose finished product will match any |
tooth. The dentist has a great as
vsortment of teeth made from porcelain |
powders, these all named or numbered, |
and he matches up your tooth with |
one of these and uses for the inlay the |
powder Of the corresponding number.
With the little gold mold all ready. |
the operator now mixes a sufficient |
quantity of the porcelain powder with |
alcohol to give him the material in |
plastic form, while at the same time |
the alcohol will evaporate quickly. He |
vets also the asbestus In the mold |
holder to keep that from absorbing the |
alcohol in the porcelain powder.
And now with his porcelain In work |
able form he fills the mold with 1t, to |
make there the shape that is to be set |
into the tooth, and then he proceeds to |
fashion in the plastic material its out
ward part This may be simply q |
slightly rounded surface. for an inlay |
that is to go into the fatter part of |
tooth. or the inlay may include an |
edge or corner of tooth, or both; but, |
whatever the outward part may be, |
the operator so molds and fashions it |
that it will continue and complete nat
uraily the contour Of the tooth in
which the inlay Is to be set.
With the modelling thus finished the !
inlay is ready for the final process, and
now, with the holder, mold and all,
1t is put into tiny electric oven. out I
of which after q Suitable time If is !