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they will be retained in perfect union, not to mention the ox-
idation of the lead which might take place, or * the galvanic
action, which might result from moisture between the two
metals. It should be a general rule with us never to suffer
our stopping, if we can avoid it, to be exposed to view, and
yet we should never because we find that the gold will be
seen, hesitate to perform this operation, and thereby pre-
serve a valuable tooth. For it is far better to preserve a
valuable tooth having a plug which may be seen when the
lips are open, than to suffer the tooth to decay. In some
cases we detect caries between two teeth, and in order to
plug them, we are obliged to file them apart, so as to allow
room for the cleaning out of the cavity, and for proper in-
troduction of the plug. At times the practitioner is at a loss
to determine whether he should attempt to remove caries
with a file, or whether he shall plug the tooth. His guide
in this case, is to clean out the carious portion from the tooth,
and if so situated or shaped as to be in any way prac-
ticable to plug the cavity, he should do so, if not, he
should remove all the carious portion with the file ; and
if it occurs in the lateral parts of the incisores, so as
by being all cut away to very considerably injure the
appearance of the teeth, he should separate them with the
file, and remove the posterior plate of enamel with a knife, and
all the caries, and leave the front plate of the enamel unin-
jured. I have now spoken in very general terms of the sev-
eral particulars respecting the operation of plugging the
teeth, &c. But a great deal more may be said of it, and a
great many cases adduced of its utility, were I disposed to
protract this section. I shall, however, content myself with
leaving the subject with what has been already said, to di-
rect the practitioner to the correct and judicious perform-
ance of the operation, assisted by his own ingenuity and a