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THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURV 251

very well be stopped after extraction, and then rei^hintctl, tor it will take
root again, but no longer be the cause of any pain.'
PiFRRF DiONis, a celebrated surgeon and anatoinist of Paris (died
1 718), in his AiiatoDiie de Fhoniiiu^'- admits the j:)ossibilit\' of a double
dental series, holding the case, however, to be ol ver\ rare occurrence.
Another work ot his, entitled Coitrs d^operations de Chinirgtc, w herein
he treats very extensively of diseases of the teeth and mouth, and their
surgical cure, is of much more importance in relation to dentistr\ . lie
recognizes the high importance ot this part of surgery, but expresses the
opinion that one of the dental operations, that is the extraction of teeth,
ought to be left entirely to the tooth-pullers, not only because the\- are,
by reason of great practice, better qualified to perform it than general
surgeons, but also because the output of force required for this tooth-
pulling operation renders the hand heavy and tremulous, and, lastly,
because, according to him, it always has something of charlatanism
about It. (This is a luminous example of how preconceived ideas can
influence the minds even of men ot the greatest talent.)
Pierre Dionis, like many of the preceding authors, had frequently
occasion to observe cases of epulis. He speaks at great length ot the
treatment of this affection, as well as of parulis, but says nothing on the
subject of sufficient importance to be worth recording.
Dental operations, according to Dionis, are of seven kinds:
1. The opening of the dental arches in the ease of spasmodic constriction
of the jaws. This operation, of the greatest importance for nourishing
and keeping patients alive, is carried out b\' means of a lever and ot a
screw dilator.
2. The cleaning of the teeth. For this, as for the other operations,
sa\s Dionis, a certain amount of skill is required. The author advises
the use of gold instruments if one be called upon to clean the teeth of
persons of rank. This appears rather strange in the present levelling
times, but Pierre Dionis lived in the days ot Louis XIV, whose doctor he
was, that is, in a period of unbridled luxury, when the nobles and those
in power would have nothing in common with the lower classes.
3. Operations for the preservation of the teeth. These, says Dionis,
are of the greatest importance, it being necessar\' to oppose a barrier to
the destructive processes of the teeth. Caries, when so situated as to
permit of it, ought to be scraped away; for approximal caries one ought to
have recourse to the file; in the case of caries of the triturating surfaces,
cauterization should be used, b\- applying a drop of oil ot vitriol with a
miniature paint brush. Should the caries, however, be in a very advanced
' Sprengel, Geschichte der Chirurgie, vol. ii, p. 301. C'arabclli, Systtmatisclies, Handbuch
der Zahnheilkunde, vol. i, p. 60.
- This work was published in 1690.