Page 289 - My FlipBook

THE EICIITKKNTH CESTi R) 2(i7

to the boil. Aiterw aid, w hen cold, decant in a t^lass bottle, to be kept well
corked. Pour another three pints of spirit ot wine on the residue ot the
drugs; cork the retort again, reiilacino it in tlu' water bath tor tort\-ei hours, and regulating the Hre as above. 1 hen, after letting it cool,
pour off the liquid into the same bottle. Ne.xt reinoxe all the residue from
the retort, place it in a thick, white linen cloth, and force the remaining
liquid through it, and add to that in the bottle. Put back halt" of the
entire quantit\ of liquid in the same retort, and add thereto aloetic
elixir and bantuc Jii coniinajulciir, ana four ounces; puKerized dragon's
blood, three ounces and a half; pulverized gum of giiaiac and Peru\ian
balsam, ana three ounces; gum lac, two ounces. Cork the retort again
and replace it in the water bath for forty-eight hours, as above. Let
cool, decant the liquid in another glass bottle, and cork well. Pour the
remaining half of the first liquid upon the rest of the drugs, replace
the retort in the water bath for fort\-eight hours, let cool, and pour the
contents in the last bottle. Filter the liquid well, and pour it into a bottle
of sufficient size to be able to add the following liquids: a(jua \ulneraria
and first cinnamon water, ana three pints; second cinnamon water, three
half-pints; spirit of cochlearia, four pints. Shake the bottle well, filter
again, and store in well-corked bottles."
The author adds that the doses of the different drugs may be reduced
in proportion to the quantity of liquor to be prepared; and that he pre-
pares so large a quantity at a time because of the great sale he has for it
among his clients.
The preparation in question is counselled by the author as a remedy
against pathological conditions, and of the gums especially. One makes
use of it in the follow^ing manner: Pour from seven to eight drops into a
wineglass of w-ater; wet the tip of the finger and rub the gums and the
teeth w-ell. Or mix seven or eight drops in a good spoonful of water,
using a fine sponge to rub the teeth and gums.
The example we have cited suffices to show how much care one took
at that time in the preparation of substances destined to be used in the
preservation of the teeth, and demonstrates at the same time that Fauch-
ard, inventor of that and many other preparations, besides being an able
surgeon dentist, w^as also exceedingly well versed in dental materia medica.
Chapter VII treats of the general causes of dental, alveolar, and gingival
diseases, and contains the complete enumeration of these maladies.
The causes of dental affections may be of two orders, viz., internal (general
diseases, dvscrasic conditions) and external (the action of heat and cold,
mechanical causes, etc.).
After having spoken in particular of various causes, Fauchard adds:
"Little or no care as to the cleanliness of the teeth is ordinaril} the
cause of all the maladies that destro\' them."