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298 THE TECHNICAL PBOCEDUKES IN FILLING TEETH.

polishing strips, that may be used in the interproximal space
without reaching or passing over the contact point, as shown in
Figure 391. Unless these are thin enough to pass the contact
easily, and without cutting away its prominence, the end of each
strip should be trimmed to a point and passed through from the
buccal and caught on the lingual and pulled through to avoid
injury by cutting away the contact point. Over and over again
students, and dentists as well, ruin a well built contact point
by failure in this precaution. If a polishing strijj is allowed
to be passed over the contact point, bound against it tightly
by the proximating tooth, it cuts the gold very rapidly. Indeed,
it produces results similar to those produced by the disk, illus-
trated in Figure 395. ^\Tien this part of the work has been
comi^leted, the final finish of the contact point may be made.
For this purpose a wide but very thin flexible tape, with fine
grit, should be carefully passed over the contact point with a
pull sufficient to cause it to close around it, and round it into
form. The use of this should continue only long enough to
produce a smooth surface. Much cutting that will materially
reduce the prominence of the gold should be strictly avoided.
This will finish the filling neatly and with a prominence of the
contact point as it has been planned and built, as shown in Fig-
ures 393, 394.