The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-09-27
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.

Set Filled With Porcelain.
This was an upper front tooth that
had once been nicely filed with gold
| but fresh decay having set I'm around
that filling II had become necessary &c
fill the tooth again. This time, thu
dentist said, he thought he would fill
! II with porcelain.
All the processes Of making n por
celaln inlay are interesting. Having
drilled the cavity In the tooth To Its
required depth and shape, the dentist
next proceeds 10 make matrix OF
mold Of II In gold foil, which, he Is
enabled TO do without breaking this
delicate material by the use Of bit
Of sponge between il and the crowd.
Ing tool. SO he crowds the gold foil
down around within IL everywhere 10
At into the cavity perfectly and gets
the depth all around the edge Of
the mold so exactly that the inlay to
be made In 1t when set into place will
not only fit perfectly In the cavity, but
ut into it with It's 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 tinlest OF
tiny gold cups or II may have some
irregular shape, according 10 the shape
of the cavity; but, whatever It's shape,
this mold Of gold foil Is 50 slight and
thin that touch would crush 1t, and
It seems indeed rs If breath would
blow Il away, rs probably Ii would,
and you may wonder how a solid
piece of porcelain can ever be formed
In mold so frail and delicate, but It
Is all really very simple, as you will
see.
Now the dentist takes small me
tallic holder about the size and shape
OF very small clam shell, which he
fills with powdered asbcstus mixed
with water and on top of this yield
ing material, handling IL gently with
n pair of pliers, he sets the delicate
little gold mold with its closed end
down, resting so on the surface Of
the moistcncd powdered asbcstus.
This holder has n lip on one side of
It's edge, by which II can be lifted with
q pair of pliers made for the purpose
and serving thus as n handle for 1t.
Lifting the little saucer now by this
handle, the operator rubs on the han
die very gently, as one might draw Il
fiddle bow very gently back and forth
on the strings Of n fiddle, 4 lead pen
ell might do for this, but he Is likely
TO use some professional tool with a
chased or engraved handle, whose ir-
regularitics will hcightcn the effect,
and, rubbing gently with this on the
handle of the holder, he communicates
to Ii and TO its contents and TO the lit
tie gold mold on top continuous, gentle
vibrations, which, slight rs they are,
still cause the mold gradually to settle
and imbcd itself in the scmiiluid mass
In the holder, and this without i'm the
slightest changing its shape. These
vibrations are continued till the mold
has settled TO the required depth, and
then the water Is cvaporatcd from the
asbcstus, and there YOU have the little
gold mold firmly Imbcdded in practi-
cally solid material and ready For use.
The inlay will bc made In the mold
from porcelain powder Porcelain
powders for dental use are made by
the manufacturers of dental supplies
I'm endless variety of shades, So that
II is easily possible TO get powder
whose finished product will match any
tooth. 'rhe dentist has a great as
sortmcnt 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 sufficient
quantity Of the porcelain powder with
alcohol TO give him the material in
plastic form while ut the same time
the alcohol will evaporate quickly. He
vets also the asbeStus I'm 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 IL, to
make there the shape that is TO be set
into the tooth, and then he proceeds 10
fashion I'm the plastic material its out
ward part. This may be simply a
slightly rounded surface. for an inlay
that is TO go into the natter part of n
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 IL
that II will continue and complete nat
urally the contour of the tooth In
which the inlay Is 90 hc set
With the modelling thus finished. the
inlay is ready FOR the final process and
now, with the holder, mold and all,
II Is put into n tiny electric oven, out
of which after suitable time IL is
taken. baked into n solid bit of porce-
Ian, the inlay completed
1t IL set In place with cement, and
so perfectly Is porcelain nlaying now
done that except upon the closest In
spection II may bc impossible to tell in
an iulaid tooth where the natural tooth
ends and where the inlay begins. a