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154 SECXJND PERIOD-THE MIDDLE AGES

drink, and other substances that can set the teeth on edge must be
avoided. (6) Food that is too hot or too cold must be avoided, and
especially the rapid succession of hot and cold, and vice versa. (7)
Leeks must not be eaten, as such a food, by its own nature, is in-
jurious to the teeth. (8) The teeth must be cleaned, at once, after
every meal, from the particles of food left in them; and for this purpose
must be used thin pieces of wood somewhat broad at the ends, but not
sharp pointed or edged; and preference should be given to small cypress
twigs, to the wood of aloes, of pine, rosemary, of juniper, and similar
sorts of wood which are rather bitter and styptic; care must, however,
be taken not to search too long in the dental interstices and not to injure
the gums or shake the teeth. (9) After this, it is necessary to rinse the
mouth, using bv preference a vinous decoction of sage, or one of cinnamon,
mastich, gallia, moschata, cubeb, juniper seeds, root of cyperus, and
rosemary leaves. (10) The teeth must be rubbed with suitable denti-
frices before going to bed, or else in the morning before breakfast. Al-
though Avicenna recommended various oils for this purpose, Giovanni of
Arcoli appears very hostile to oleaginous frictions, because he considers
them very injurious to the stomach. He observes, besides, that whilst
moderate frictions of brief duration are helpful to the teeth, strengthen the
gums, prevent the formation of tartar, and sweeten the breath, too rough
or too prolonged rubbing is, on the contrary, harmful to the teeth and
makes them' liable to many diseases. As a dentifrice, he recommends
a mixture of two parts of honey to one of the best sugar; or the ashes
of the burnt head of a hare; or burnt salt made into an electuary by the
addition of honey. To use the last two dentifrices, a quantity about
equal in volume to a filbert must be wrapped and tied inside a thin,
loosely woven piece of linen cloth, and with this the teeth must then be
rubbed. Finally, theriac, too, is considered by him a very good dentifrice.
According to Arculanus, dental pains are sometimes situated in the very
substance of the tooth, at other times in the nerve, and at others in the
gums.
The dental substance may become painful, owing to bad "complexion"
When,
(viz., constitution), without there being any morbid matter in it.
however, such matter exists, it may proceed from the head or from the
stomach, and in certain cases it gives rise to an apostema of the tooth
;
in other cases it corrodes the latter; and at other times generates (!) in
it a worm, which in its turn corrodes the tooth.
In regard to the diagnosis of dental pains, it is necessary first of all to
examine the state of the gums, that is to say, to observe whether these,
in the aching spot, appear healthy, or whether, on the contrary, they are
discolored or tumid, sanguinolent, suppurating, or the seat of corrosion
or putrefaction, or if, when pressure is put upon them, an exit of matter