IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR INSTRUMENTS FOR EXTRACTING TEETH."
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Fitkin, of 88, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Dentist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS OR
INSTRUMENTS FOR EXTRACTING TEETH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Fitkin at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with bis Petition, on the 20th
August 1861.
I, WILLIAM FITKIN, of 88, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Dentist,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS OR INSTRUMENTS FOR EXTRACTING TEETH," to be as follows:-
My apparatus consists of two separate portions, instruments, or appliances,
which when put to use are employed in conjunction or combination; each
has a handle or end conveniently formed for holding and using it. One of these
instruments or appliances is constructed with a part or surface which I call
a "rest piece," intended to bear or rest against the gum or jaw or the patient,
and also with a curved or a bent arm, or what I call a "bridge piece," so
shaped that when the rest piece is applied against the gum, the bridge-piece
passes in a direction across the jaw that is over the tooth, if in the lower, and
under it if in the upper jaw, and affords a fulcrum or bearing point for the
second appliance or instrument, that is to say, the latter is rested and works
upon it (the bridge piece) on the opposite side of the jaw to that against
which the rest piece is applied. The stem or body, the rest piece, and the
bridge piece of the first appliance, are in one piece, or in rigid connection, or
so contrived as to afford a firm bearing or rest for the second appliance. The
second instrument or appliance is serrated or otherwise formed at one end for

page_text: acting directly upon the tooth, and is conveniently contrived for resting on the
bridge piece, for which purpose I prefer to shape it with an orifice near the
end, by which it is passed over the end of the bridge piece, and thereby con-
nected therewith. The compound instrument is generally applied by so
placing the first portion or instrument that the rest piece may bear, rest, or
press against the gum on one side of the jaw, while at the opposite side thereof
the second portion or instrument is rested on the bridge piece working thereon
as a lever on its fulcrum, and so acting upon the tooth; in fact, both
appliances or instruments may be worked as levers in some cases, the handles
being moved in antagonistic or opposite directions. The first instrument may
be said to be formed with two fulcra, namely, the rest piece and the place of
contact with the second appliance.
Instead of the two instruments that constitute my apparatus being separate
or detached, as above described, I sometimes modify the contrivance by
jointing, connecting, or attaching them together, their arrangement being in
other respects similar to what has been before stated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Fitkin in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th February 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
FITKIN, of 88, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Dentist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Fitkin, Her special licence that I, the said William Fitkin,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Fitkin, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS OR INSTRUMENTS FOR EXTRACTING TEETH," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Fitkin, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Fitkin, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My apparatus consists of two separate portions, instruments, or appliances,
which, when put to use, aro employed in conjunction or combination; each
has a handle or end conveniently formed for holding and using it. One of
these instruments or appliances, which I call the "fulcrum instrument," is
constructed with a part or surface, herein-after called "rest piece" (intended
to bear or rest against the gum or jaw of the patient); and also with a curved
or bent arm, or what I call "bridge piece" or "arch," which is so shaped that
when the rest piece is applied against the gum, this bridge piece or arch
passes over the tooth, and affords a fulcrum or bearing point for the second
instrument or elevator to rest and work upon at the opposite side of the gum
to that against which the rest piece is applied. The stem or body, the rest
piece, and the bridge piece or arch of the first appliance are in one piece, or in
rigid connection, or so contrived as to afford a firm and steady bearing, rest,
or fulcrum for the second appliance. The second instrument (or "elevator,")
is serrated or otherwise conveniently formed at one end for acting directly
upon the tooth in the operation of extraction, and is also conveniently con-
trived for resting on the bridge piece or arch, for which purpose I prefer to shape
it with an orifice near the end, by which it is passed over the end of the bridge
piece. The compound instrument is generally applied by so placing the first
or "fulcrum instrument" that the rest piece may bear, rest, or press against
the gum on one side or surface thereof, and the elevator is rested on the
bridge piece or arch at the opposite side, and works thereon as a lever on
its fulcrum, and thus acts upon the tooth; in fact, both appliances or instru-
ments may be worked as levers in some cases, the handles being moved in
antagonistic or opposite directions. The first or fulcrum instrument may be
said to be formed with two fulcra, one being the rest piece and the other the
place of contact with the elevator or second appliance.
Instead of the two instruments which constitute my apparatus being separate
or detached, as above described, I sometimes modify the contrivance by jointing,
connecting, or attaching them together, their arrangement being in other
respects similar to what has before becu stated.

page_text: I now proceed, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, to describe
the best means known to me for carrying my Invention into effect.
Figures 1 and 2 are views of the first or fulcrum instrument, and Figures
3 and 4 are views of the second instrument or elevator. A is the handle of
the fulcrum instrument; B, its stem or body, preferably of steel; C, the rest
piece, which is in a piece with the stem; it is covered with a piece of leather
or other soft material, or may even be padded, in order to press more gently
against the jaw or gum; D is the bridge piece, arch, or arm; it springs from
the bottom of the shank or from the rest piece, and is in a piece therewith.
Its curve or exact form may vary, but it must be of the shape described, that
is to say, of such shape, that when the rest piece is placed against the jaw or
gum at one side, say, for example, the inside, the arch or bridge piece crosses
or bridges over, or extends above the crown of the tooth, and presents a
bearing point for the elevator at the other side of the gum, say, the outside.
d is the part of the arch or bridge pieco forming the point or fulcrum on
which the elevator works. E is the handle of the elevator; F, the steel stem
or body of the same, its end h being serrated or otherwise adapted for acting
on and extracting the tooth; g, shewn also in plan, Figure 5, is an eye in-a
projection on the stem F, by which the elevator is mounted on the arch D.
The curves of the stems or bodies B and F may be varied to adapt the instru-
ment for different teeth. Figure 6 shews the two instruments combined;
Figure 7 shews them as applied to the extracting of a tooth; J is the tooth to
be extracted; and I, the gum. Here the rest piece C bears against the inside
or back of the gum; the arch crosses over above the crown of the tooth, and
presents the fulcrum d in front of the gum (the rest piece C might be applied
ou the outer side of the gum.)
I proceed to exemplify the mode of employing the apparatus:-The operator
takes the handles one in each hand; the end of the fulcrum instrument is
inserted into the patient's mouth, the rest piece being placed against the gum
of the tooth to be extracted, and the arch or bridge piece crosses or extends
over the crown of the tooth (either of the one to be extracted or the next)
presenting its outward end at the opposite side of the teeth, (that is, at the
side opposite to that at which the rest piece is,) a short distance from the teeth
and a little above the gum. The elevator is then mounted on the arch by
passing the orifice g over the end of the arch; the end of the elevator is applied
against the tooth, and by depressing both handles (the elevator working on the
point d) the tooth may be raised almost perpendicularly from its socket. A
fulcrum may by these means be obtained in the exact position required.
The arrangements at the end of the elevator may be modified both as to

page_text: the part which acts upon the tooth, and that whereby it is mounted upon the
arch or bridge piece. Instead of the rest piece C and arch D being in a piece
with the stem B and with each other, they may be rivetted or otherwise
rigidly fixed together, or the arch may be jointed to the stem, and bear against
a fixed stop, being firmly retained in a steady position by a screw or other
like means to form a firm, stable, and unshifting fulcrum for the elevator.
I wish it to be understood, that instruments similar in form and action to
the elevator (except in respect of the arrangements for mounting it on the
bridge piece) have already been used, but these elevators, when applied, have
been rested on the finger or gum, and thus working on an unstable fulcrum,
or on no fulcrum at all, are liable to slip and occasion much pain and even
danger. Also "keys" have been used for extracting teeth, in which a shifting
or moveable claw is employed to act upon and extract the tooth; but in my
arrangement, the elevator works on a steady, fixed, and stable fulcrum, which
may be placed in the most convenient position for operating. And by using
my compound instrument, the pain and risk of the ordinary punch or elevator
are wholly avoided, as are also the dangers arising from the "forceps" and
"key."
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved compound instrument or apparatus herein described.
Second, the constructing of the "fulcrum instrument" with the "rest piece"
and the fixed "arch" or "bridge piece" in a piece with or in rigid or firm con-
nection with each other, and with the stem or body of the instrument, so as to
form a firm and steady fulcrum for the elevator to work on, as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Fitkin, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
M. HENRY,
Patent Agent,
84, Fleet Street, London.
WILLIAM FITKIN. (L.S.)