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THE SKJENTKKNrH CENTUR)' 245
"It happens in general that owing to \apors that rise troni the stomach,
a certain deposit is formed on the teeth, which ma\ he perceived by
rLd")hing them with a rough cloth on waking. One ought, therefore, to
rub and clean them ever\' morning, for, if one is not aware of this, or
considers it of little account, the teeth become discolored and covered
with a thick tartar, which often causes them to deca\ and to fail out.
It is then necessary that the diligent barber should remoxe the said tartar
with the instruments destined for this purpose."
We have seen that the practice of the dental art was for the most |)art
in other hands than in the barber's. Nevertheless, the important opera-
tion of the removal of tartar was also carried out by him. If, therefore,
even the barbers, who were not in the least the true representatives of the
dental art of that period, carried out such an important operation, it may
logically be argued from this, in support of what we have said before,
that the sphere of action of the true dental specialists of those times
(especially of the best among them) was not at all so limited as imagined
b\ those who affirm that in past times dentists properly so called did not
exist, but onh' tooth-pullers.
The barbers, however, having become, in a certain manner, members
of the medical class, sought to extend their sphere of action, and it is
probable that in a later period than that of Tiberio Malfi and Cintio
d'Amato they invaded the whole field of dental activity; for which reason,
when the barber's art came down to a very low level, the dental art must
have degenerated, too, and have been represented for a certain time only
by ignorant barbers and tooth-pullers. Vicissitudes similar to these
have occurred in different epochs, not only in various parts of Italy,
but also in other countries of Europe.
Fleurimond. In 1682 a little book on dental hygiene was published
in Paris by a certain Fleurimond, the title of which was: Moycus de
conserver les dents belles et bonnes. Portal, in his history of anatomy
and surgery, makes mention of this pamphlet, and, briefly alluding to
certain parts of it, he says: "The author proves by observation that
acids act upon the enamel of the teeth. He makes some very just reflec-
tions upon dentition. Fleurimond speaks of a tooth powder invented by
him, but does not sa\' how compounded."^
In fact, it seems that this pamphlet was compiled from a commercial
point of view, viz., that of making known the special tooth powder invented
by the author. The era of advertisement had already begun!
Anton Nuck (1650 to 1692), a Dutch surgeon and anatomist, who
taught most abh in the University of Leyden, devoted great attention
to dental surgery and prosthesis. Relative to the extraction of teeth, he

' Portal, vol. iii, p. 61S.