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FILLING WITH GOLD. 247

FILLING WITH GOLD.

IN filling teeth, cohesive gold or non-cohesive gold may be
used ; the cavity may be partly filled with non-cohesive gold
and finished with cohesive gold, or a certain wall of the cavity
may be covered with non-cohesive gold and the rest of the filling
made of cohesive gold.

FILLING WITH NON-COHESIVE GOLD.
Filling with non-cohesive gold for the entire cavity is prac-
ticed but very little nowadays, apparently for two reasons : it
requires the development of a different order of skill from that
required for cohesive gold, which is somewhat difficult to master,
and it can not be used for contouring or in filling to form in
cavities that have lost one or more of the surrounding walls.
In this manner of filling, the principle of wedging the gold
between the surrounding walls is depended upon to hold the gold
together and to retain it in the cavity. The loss of one of the
surrounding walls of a cavity practically prohibits its use. For
this purpose, foil only is used, and its lamina must extend from
the bottom to the surface of the cavity. Either the form of the
rope or cylinders may be used. In this method of filling, the gold
is not annealed. With our present ideas of preparing cavities,
only occlusal and l)uccal or labial cavities that have complete
and good surrounding walls are suitable for non-cohesive gold.
The forms in which we now prepare these are as suitable for
non-cohesive as for cohesive gold, only that no convenience
points for starting the filling are required for non-cohesive gold.
The cavities, however, must be deeper than many that we prepare
for cohesive gold, particularly buccal and labial cavities.
In filling an occlusal cavity in a molar with non-cohesive
gold cylinders, we should prepare the cylinders so that their
length is a little greater than the depth of the cavity. Some
should be large and some small, the size of the lai'ger ones
depending upon the size of the cavity. Begin with the cylinder,
which, as loosely rolled, will about fill the cavity full. Set this
in the cavity with one of its ends standing upon the pulpal wall
and the other protruding from its orifice. With the side of a