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nest ; as for instance, in the depressions of the grinding sur-
faces of the molar teeth ; upon the edges of those teeth
which touch each other, or are crowded together, or over-
lap each other ; and by not having room to grow, the enamel
was thin ; and also when the enamel began to be attenuated
near the necks of the teeth, decay was apt to commence,
especially when a part of the gums were lost, and in a ma-
jority of cases, as soon as the enamel was perforated by the
progress of the decay, that the bony part of the tooth de-
cayed very fast, and soon formed a considerable cavity.
Caries of the teeth usually after penetrating the enamel, ex-
cites a chronic inflammation of the bony part ; so much so,
as to produce mortification of the inflamed part ; by a constant
continuance of the inflammation and mortification, the caries
proceeds until it penetrates to the nerve of the tooth, and at
last produces, if not arrested in its progress, the entire de-
struction of the crown and body of the tooth. In some
cases as soon as the decay penetrates the enamel, the bone
becomes inflamed and sets up a powerful barrier to the pro-
gress of the caries ; the bone of the tooth at this particular
spot becomes very tender, so as to hardly bear the touch of a
brush, and seems in a great many cases to do much towards
arresting the progress of the disease ; and the caries instead
of penetrating the tooth, spreads like an irregular patch over
it. This state of caries when it takes place, is usually situa-
ted on the front flat surface of the incisors, and on the out-
side of the grinders and biscuspid teeth, and demonstrates in
the clearest manner, how little the statements of those wri-
ters are to be credited, who assert that the teeth or at least
their bony structure is almost extraneous, with regard to the
rest of the system, and possessed of little or no vitality.
For by disease it becomes quite as sensible as most of the
fleshy organs of the system. When caries has proceeded so