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THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 203

us when we consider how imperfccrU, in those da\s, dental prosthesis
was carried out and how the imniohilit\' of the artificial pieces, caused
them to be a source of permanent irritation to the neighboring parts,
especially on account of the difHcult\- met with in giving proper care to
cleanliness. He, therefore, entireh rejects the application of artificial
teeth. He is likewise but little inclined to the use of the pelican, it luing
very easv^ to break the teeth with it, and, instead, he recommends the use,
whenever it be possible, of another instrument which he calls pes boviniis.
Foreest relates several cases of dental hstulne which he had cured bv
the extraction of the faulty teeth. In one of these cases, observed in
a ladv, the fistula had opened between the nose and the cheek, so that
a malady of the upper jaw was feared (and, in fact, as William Sprengel
observes, it is not improbable that this was a case of affection of lligh-
more's antrum); he obtained a complete cure in a short time b\- the extrac-
tion of a diseased tooth.
According to Peter Foreest, the existence of dental worms is as certain
as is that of intestinal, auricular, and other worms. Even on the pre-
tended efficacy of remedies, capable of making the teeth fall out without
pain, he does not throw the slightest doubt.
Foreest attributes to his master, Benedictus of Faenza, the merit of
having introduced into therapeutics the trephining of teeth for the cure
of certain violent pains not accompanied by any external lesion of the
tooth. We know, however, that the invention of this operation dates
back to Archigenes. Benedictus trephined the tooth with a very fine
drill {stylo vel terebello siibtilissimo) and then filled it with theriac, using,
likewise, as occasion required, other remedies.
To demonstrate the propriety and the necessity of laying bare the neck
of the tooth before extracting it, he relates a case in which fracture of
the jaw was the result of having neglected this precaution.
Among the sundry causes of the looseness of teeth, he mentions the
softening of the dental nerve {emollitio), but this erroneous opinion had
already been expressed by Galen.
As a means of cleaning teeth and keeping them free from tartar, he
advises, among other things, the use of pumice-stone powder. He dis-
approves, however, of the use of oil of vitriol—unless in very minute
quantities of, at the very most, one or two drops.'
Urbain Hemard, a surgeon to the Cardinal d'Armagnac, published
in 1582, at Lyons, a booklet entitled: Recherche de la vraye anathomie
des dents, nature et proprietez d'icelles, ou est amplement discouru de ce
quelles ont plus que les autres os; avecque les maladies qui leur adviennent,
et les remedies. This is the first dental monograph that appeared in
France. The pamphlet is written with much erudition, but its contents

^ Petri Poorest!, Alcmariani, opera omnia (juatuor tomis digesta, Rothomagi, 1653.