The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1934-03-27
WHETHER tbs WISER IN
THE JOINTS TO SUFFER

The controversy concerning the
fate of pulpless or so-called dead
teeth goes furiously on, and to an
innocent by-stander whose sympa-
thies are now on this and now on
that side Is seems that there Is
hopeless talemate. Physicians APP
pear to be equally divided on the
question of extracting the pulpless
tooth; dentists seem as widely sep
arated.
Personally I'd keep a pulpless
tooth as long as 1t served q pur-
pose, provided I had no trouble
which q good physician ascribed to
focal infection. Here you see we
must make up our own mind what
to do. 1t is purely question OF
opinion.
If my dentist told me I had one
or more pulpless or dead" teeth
and the teeth were giving me any
trouble and not serving and i'm.
portant purpose, should be In.
clined to have 'em extracted. But
not on mere x-ray evidence alone.
No, no, I'd never sacrifice even
dead" tooth on the showing OF
an x-ray film. I'd want at least
the independent opinion of my den
fist that the tooth is infected or
damaged by disease beyond reason
able hope Of repair.
In the earlier days of the focal
infection principle in practice Go
cal infection is no theory; 1t Is
well established principle) good
many victims gave up their teeth
as offerings to get the great god
guess. Some, doctors were so busy
that they could take only time to
give one quick look in the patients
mouth and order him to go to the
dentist and have all his teeth
pulled.
Forty or f1rty years ago that was
an old Yankee custom. 1t was
cheaper and less trouble than nav
ing the teeth filled or repaired by
the dentist-if there was a dentist
capable of doing so. Probably II
Was not difficult to persuade peo-
Die who were adults in the gay
r1ineties to submit to such multi
alton in the childish hope that II
would cure their rheumatic, >sciat-
lea or other complaints. They SUN
felt that the spending OF good
money trying to save rev teetn
was bit extravaganza, when beau
tiful sets could be had ut bargain
prices.
1t is still question in any case
whether to. extract pulpless or pre-
sumably infected teeth in the hope
of bringing relief to arthritis or
other trouble which is attributable
to the focus of infection. The per-
son best qualified to answer the
question in any case is the family
or attending physician, not the dem
list nor any other specialist,
through the regular physician Will
take into consideration the views
of these others whose counsel may
have been had.
DR. H. +. Wolf of New York
proposes a fairly simple test TO
determine the ACCESSIBILITY Of re-
moval of any putative focus OF
infection. He gives the patient 10
to l5 grains of aspirin. If the joint
pain is not re4ieved within an hour
the extraction of q tooth or the
extirpation of the tonsil Is not ad-
vised; or If such treatment is OBJ
viously needed the patient is in
formed that no marked beneht In
the arthritis can be expected.
Regardless of this test of uncer.
tainty about the bearing of the TO-
Gus OF infection In tonsil, I'D have
the tonsil infection cleaned up by
diathermy, and so give myself the
benefit of the doubt without taxing
any grave risk as one would In un-