Page 385 - My FlipBook
P. 385
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381
removed at once, pain and tenderness of the teeth will be
produced. Mr. Koecker says, this is an erroneous opinion,
and that " instead of believing that the removal of all the
tartar at the same time, can endanger the teeth by exposing
them, it seems to me, that the sooner they are relieved from
so pernicious a coating, the more we contribute to their pres-
ervation."*
I coincide with the last named gentleman in his opinion of
the subject, and consider, that if we can remove all the tar-
tar at once, it will be for the best interests of our patient
but as I before mentioned, the bleeding of the gums may not
allow of our doing it at once, we may defer it from five to
twelve days, when we ought to complete the operation. I
never saw any pain or inconvenience arise from the com-
plete removal of the tartar but in one case, and this was
quickly relieved by holding a little brandy in the mouth for a
few minutes. If any of the teeth are loose, and have tartar
on them, which is often the case, we are to use great care in
removing it, and support the tooth with our fingers, or some
instrument, whilst we remove the tartar which adheres to it.
This is an important direction and should be carefully adopt-
ed by every operator. During the operation, and after it is
accomplished, until the bleeding entirely ceases, the patient
should rinse the mouth frequently with warm water. After
the bleeding ceases, some astringent lotion may be used if the
gums are tender, which is not always the case. The astrin-
gent I prefer in this case, is the decoction of the oak-bark,
or of' galls, mentioned when speaking of the mode of treat-
ing scurvy of the gums. In using any astringent wash, we
must direct our patients after using the astringent lotion and
brushino- the gums, so as to carry it completely over every part
* Koecker, Part II, page 291.
381
removed at once, pain and tenderness of the teeth will be
produced. Mr. Koecker says, this is an erroneous opinion,
and that " instead of believing that the removal of all the
tartar at the same time, can endanger the teeth by exposing
them, it seems to me, that the sooner they are relieved from
so pernicious a coating, the more we contribute to their pres-
ervation."*
I coincide with the last named gentleman in his opinion of
the subject, and consider, that if we can remove all the tar-
tar at once, it will be for the best interests of our patient
but as I before mentioned, the bleeding of the gums may not
allow of our doing it at once, we may defer it from five to
twelve days, when we ought to complete the operation. I
never saw any pain or inconvenience arise from the com-
plete removal of the tartar but in one case, and this was
quickly relieved by holding a little brandy in the mouth for a
few minutes. If any of the teeth are loose, and have tartar
on them, which is often the case, we are to use great care in
removing it, and support the tooth with our fingers, or some
instrument, whilst we remove the tartar which adheres to it.
This is an important direction and should be carefully adopt-
ed by every operator. During the operation, and after it is
accomplished, until the bleeding entirely ceases, the patient
should rinse the mouth frequently with warm water. After
the bleeding ceases, some astringent lotion may be used if the
gums are tender, which is not always the case. The astrin-
gent I prefer in this case, is the decoction of the oak-bark,
or of' galls, mentioned when speaking of the mode of treat-
ing scurvy of the gums. In using any astringent wash, we
must direct our patients after using the astringent lotion and
brushino- the gums, so as to carry it completely over every part
* Koecker, Part II, page 291.
