The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-22

contacts at certain points throughout the first zone of the mouth, pharynx, epipharynX, nose or tongue. But the finger and toe pressures if properly employed, may be relied upon quite uniformly, and are especially adapt ed for home treatment" What ap- plies to one zone is equally app1ica- ble to all zones. Pressure averages from one half minute to four min utes, depending upon the suscepti- bility of the patient.
 If, for example. one has pain in the first zone on the left side of the jaws-either upper or Iower-it is overcome temporarily at any rate, by firm pressuEe-just. short of pain on the thumb. The patient, very shortly. declares that the finger feels numb and he seems able to trace the tending gradually upward through the arm and over the body. in that particular zone.
 When the numbness passes the To- cation of pain for which the anes- thesia is being administered, the 1suf-i feringl usually ceases. When this oc-. CUTS dentistry or miner surgery may quite 9desensitized. The patient may exert this pressure himself, but the operator. or his assistant will do it more effectual and expedttiously.
 For the. benefit of dentists who may wish to prepare cavities in sen sitive teeth, or do some of the neces- sarily painful scaling of tartar and other deposits in pyorrhoea and for the particular benefit of several mill. lion of their patients throughout the country. would say that pressure by an assistant exerted oyer the first joint Of the thumb (the assistant would do better completely to ttcover'' the joint, using thumbs and fingers of both hands for this purpose1, will mitigate or quite control the pain in the incisors and cuspid teeth of the side corresponding to the digit being squeezedA
 Similar pressure exerted over the second joint of the first finger will cSntroI pain in the bicuspid teeth
 The second finger is ref1exIy relat- ed to the two molars, but sometimes the third finger must also be em- ployed for this region
 Tn other words. pressure upon the thumb. fore-f1nger, and middle fingers of either hand will control core spondingly pain in the incisors, cus- pids and bfcuspids and the two molars on either side of the nedian line, pro viding that there is no great inf1am- nation or no abscess in the vicinity of the corresponding teeth.
 Occasionally the 'cOnCrO1s over apses. in which case it is necessary to use also the finger next to the zone finger and in the case of wisdom teeth, to get the best results it is advisable to use both the third and the little finger. 9 A very successfut method prac- ticed by some experts-parttcular where extraction must be done-is to grasp the offending tooth as near 4 af ies firzsa1o Ia and with the thumb and finger make firm pressure for three or four min utes-by the watch. This usually produces degree of anaesthesia about one half hour, although pres sure can, if necessity. be reapplied at any time. M
 Other dentists and oral surgeons the "heeI of the jawt-the point di- rectly back Of the wisdom tooth, fla rntliarly known to the profession as the tuberosity of the superior maxil- lary.'' This produces a very com plete and lasting anaesthesia Of the entire jaw of the side inflicted, and permits of the painless extraction of teeth living in the immediate neigh borhood. e
 With the lower front teeth, it has been found that to press or hold the inferior or lower) dental nerve, where it energes from the inside of the rarnls. Cor groove) of the lower jaw gives good anaesthesia. Also pressure with the finger, on the in- ferior dental nerve where it exits from below the bicuspid tooth (calI- ed by doctors the; inferior dental foramen) will usually anasthetize that half of the jaw.
 May operators, the better to focus prefer to use the blunt end of an in strument (the handle Of an. excava- tor is fexcellenD upon this inferior dental nerve.
 The proper application of these principles cannot fail to be of inn mense value to the dentist and oral surgeon in their daily practice. In relieving tooth ache and neuralgia, in removing deposits, in extracting teeth and in fact in most painful operations which dentists are called upon to perform, this simple and readily learned pressure technique should prove invaluable, as many dentists are learning every day.
 And further. the application of these principals will inevitably en- courage public interest in dentistry, and will materially diminish the sum total of pain and suffering that hu-
 nanlty Is called upon to endure. In- deed, it is common-and highly gratifying many dentists now using pressure and analgesic-to have sensitive patients-those upon whom, because of past exhausting and nerve-racking experiences. they have always dreaded working-say Well, Doctor, if you never hurt me any more than you did today, shall never again fear to come to you"
 Mothers will find that they have in this inhibition analgesis a safe and certain means of relieving themselves and their children of an immense amount of pain and discomfort. For, while they cannot, of course, hope to possess the technical Knowledge enabling them to find and exert pres sure upon the nerves themselves it is a comparatively simple matter for them to grasp the roots of an aching tooth between their thumb and finger, and temporary relieve pain-at least