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neither feed nor dress myself; when warm in bed they
ceased, but from the moment I rose and began to speak, or
let the air into my mouth, I never ceased trembling, and the
dry retchings (which you remember how tortured I use to
be with) increased so as to bring on vomiting. I suffered in
this way for eleven weeks, when in despair I had all my re-
maing teeth pulled; the tremblings and retchings quickly
abated, and in a few weeks completely left me, and I have
never had them since ; my under gums even before the teeth
were pulled, were a hard gristle, and almost as white as the
teeth. My gums have been often opened to give me relief,
but as nothing will induce them to suppurate, I get no advan-
tage, the wounding only increases the hardness : these
gums seem to me to act as levers pressing on the nerves and
blood-vessels, and keeping up a constant inflammation and ir-
ritation in my mouth and face. Under an idea that my com-
plaint proceeded from neuralgia, I was advised to have the
mental nerves divided at the chin, which did no good, and
has created such hard tumours on these places, that I think
their pressure on the side of the jaw is the cause of the
twitching pain of my under lip, and the contraction of the
muscles. I would take it as a great favour if Mr. Koecker
would say, whether he thinks he could be of any use to me
here, until I am able (which, alas ! I fear I am not) to come
to London, or if he could give me any advice which I might
desire to be done here, and if he will be so very good as to
mention what are the different kinds of diseases he has ever
met with in the gums or alveolar process, and his mode of
treatment. There seems to be an idea here, that if the
sockets are not carious, there can be no disease there, but I
think Mr. Fox mentions otherwise. My upper gums had
not been touched for four years, till a week ago, when a part
was opened that was very troublesome and much swelled ;