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Of the Manner of Performing this Operation.

Having provided ourselves with suitable instruments, the
student or practitioner of this art, should consider that he is
to operate upon organs which are injured, even to a consid-
erable extent, even by slight violence, and consequently, that
he must handle his instruments with care, so as neither to
injure the teeth nor the gums. It is repugnant to the prac-
tice of any judicious surgeon-dentist, to injure the teeth or
gums, or to occasion much pain during the operation. It is
astonishing at times, to witness in what a brutal and butcher-
like manner some persons operate upon the teeth ; wounding
or injuring the enamel, and loosening the teeth, and mangling
the gums in the most unnecessary manner.
There is no need of any violence ; but by the suitable ap-
plication of different instruments to the different teeth, the
tartar may be scaled off, so as to occasion little or no pain to
the patient, nor any violence or injury to the teeth. The
operator should persevere by gentle efforts, and the proper
application of suitable instruments, until he has removed all
the tartar from the teeth, and rendered them clean. He
should be peculiarly careful to remove all the tartar adhe-
ring upon the teeth, beneath the gums and between the teeth,
so that none will remain. In cases where the gums are very
tender, and bleed considerably we are not often able to remove
all the tartar at one sitting, but are obliged to defer the comple-
tion of the operation for some days, until the gums heal. Mr.
Fox, in cases where there is a considerable accumulation of tar-
tar, objects to removing it at once, but recommends its partial
removal at first, and after an interim of one or two weeks,
to remove the rest.* Because, he says, if all the tartar is

* See Fox, Part IT, page 108.