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THE EIGHTEKNTH CENTUR}' 269

" It was, and is still, htlit-N til In the \uli;ar ami also In sonu- w rircrs
that all toothache is caused h\ worms, which litrK- In lirrk- destro\ the
tissue of the osseous fibers and the nervous threads. It this were so, the
explanation of pains and of deca\' in the teeth would he \er\ simple. 1 his
opinion is founded on pretended experiences relatinjr to these insects,
w Inch ma\ , it is said, be made to fall out of the teeth b\ the smoke of
henbane seeds; this, however, has been declared fabulous b\ Andr\,
dean of the medical facult\- of Paris, as well as other similar facts which
he exposes in his book on the generation of worms.'
"Andry relates, however, that with the help of the microscope one may
succeed in seeing certain worms that form beneath the deposit collected
upon the teeth as the effect of want of cleanliness; these worms, he sa\ s,
are exceedingh' small and characterized by a small round head with a
small black spot; the body is long and fine, prett\ nearb like the worms
seen in vinegar through the microscope. He adds that these worms
destroy the teeth little by little, causing a bad odor, but not much jxiin.
He believes it an error of the imagination to ascribe violent pains in the
teeth to dental worms, and holds that these only produce a ver\- slight,
dull pain accompanied bv itching.
"I have done everything possible," continues Fauchard, "to convince
myself with my own eyes of the existence of these worms. I have made
use of the excellent microscopes of Manteville, sworn surgeon of Paris,
and have made a great number of experiments with them both on caries
in teeth newly extracted as well as on tartar of different consistency
accumulated on the same, but have never succeeded in discovering
any worms. 1 am also still less disposed to believe in the existence of
these animals, because Hemard declares that he has never been able to
find any worms in carious cavities. I am thoroughly convinced of Andry's
sincerity; neither do I doubt the truth of the facts he relates; but it is
easy to perceive from his own words how little the pretended healers of
teeth and their specifics for killing worms are to be held in account; from
the moment that, according to this writer, the pains for which one is
most obliged to have recourse to remedies are almost always those not
proceeding from the cause in question."
In short, Fauchard does not believe at all that dental caries is occa-
sioned by worms; and only from respect for the authority of Andry and
other writers does he admit the accidental existence of these little animals
in the carious cavities or upon the teeth, refusing, however, to attribute
any importance to the same as regards the etiology of caries.
This disease, says Fauchard,'- is produced by a humor that insinuates
itself into the midst of the osseous fibers of the teeth, and displacing the

' De la tjeneration desvers dans le corps de I'homme, Paris, 1700. Vol. i, p. 14J.