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THE EIGHTEFNTH CENTL'K)' 27:^

the cavitx with lead. It, h()\ve\er, the ca\it\ he rather deepir and occa-
sions pain, one should, after having scraped it, put a small hall ot cotton-
wool soaked in oil of cinnamon or of cloves into the hollow of the caries
ever\" da\-. This medication must he continued for a sufHcient time,
taking care to squeeze in the cotton-wool hv degrees to accustom the
sensitive parts to the pressure. Four or five da\s later one removes
the material from the carious cavitw This treatment sometimes presents
a return of the pain; it produces on the osseous Hhers of the tooth a
slight but sufficient exfoliation and impedes the progress of the caries.
If the pain should not cease after having continued this method for a
sufficient length of time, one should then have recourse to the actual
cauterv and stop the tooth after a certain time, if the form and situation
of the deca\ed cavit}' permit it; for one sometimes meets with ca\ities
that are not able to mamtain the stopping.
" If the caries penetrates as far as the cavit\' of the tooth, it mav give
rise to an abscess; and this I have often observed in persons to whom the
caries of the incisors or of the canines occasioned great pain. In such
cases I introduce the extremity of the sound into the cavity of the tooth
in order to facilitate the evacuation of matter. As soon as the pus is
evacuated the pain ceases. I then leave these patients in repose for two
or three months; after this time, I stop the decayed tooth or teeth to avoid
their getting worse."
As anyone may perceive, the methods used bv Fauchard against caries
left much to be desired, when compared with those now in use. With
such imperfect methods it is but natural that one did not always succeed
in obtaining the immediate cessation of the pain resulting from caries.
The w^ant of additional remedies was, therefore, felt; and, in fact, Fauchard
tells us' of two with which he had experimented and found most efficacious
against toothache. The first is a resinous plaster to be applied to the
temples; the other is a paste to be applied, in quantity equal to the size
of a small bean, between the gums and the cheek, and which was com-
posed of various ingredients, among others, pyrethrum, black pepper,
ginger, stavesacre, mace, cloves, cinnamon, sea salt, and vinegar. After
having given the mode of preparation and application of the two above-
mentioned remedies, Fauchard adds: "These remedies prove especially
efficacious if one takes care to introduce a little cotton-wool or lint into
the decayed cavity, soaked in oil of cloves, or cinnamon, mixed with
an equal quantity of extract of opium, and if one resorts opportunely to
bleeding and purging; which ought never to be neglected in the case of
plethoric persons."
Finally, the author speaks of another remedy,- and one which we

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