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SILICATE IN THE MAKING OF A FILLING 149

filliiig material as a class and when used to restore lost tooth sub-
stance.
The use of the word "cement" as a part of the name, hence a
noun, is incorrect unless the substance is used to "make bodies ad-
here together" and should be eliminated from the names of the
silicates and other compounds intended for a filling per se, except
when adhesive properties are taken advantage of.
The term "synthetic" is correctly used when applied to any of
the plastics now in use in dentistry, with a possible exception in
amalgam, as chemists are divided in their opinions as to exactly what
takes place in amalgamation. The use of the word "Porcelain" as
a part of the name, its being correct or incorrect, depends entirely

Fig. 79. Fig. 80.
Fig. 79.— Suitable cavities for the use of silicate fillings.
Fig. 80.—A Class One cavity on the labial of a central incisor properly prepared for a
silicate filling. The decays are shown in Fig. 79.

upon our understanding of the degree of heat necessary to bring
about cementation. (See definition.) This is accomplished at com-
paratively low and ordinary temperatures with most of the makes.
All are assisted in the process by temperatures slightly above that
of the bod3% with one maker advising the melted paraffine bath dur-
The use of the term "Enamel" is cor-
ing the period of setting.
rect provided it is a "substance of the nature of glass, more fusible,
nearly opaque, used for giving a polished ornamental surface," and
the prefix of "Artificial" provided it is "a substitute" for the nat-
ural covering of a tooth's crown. It w^ould seem that the silicates
are all synthetic, that they all partake of the nature of porcelain.