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THE KICHTEEXTII CENTIRV 311

there existed a courageous thoiij^h luiscitiirihc oprraror, to whom postcrirv
would have atrrihured tku- honor had his iiaiiK- In-eii haiuUil ilowii,
tor he was tlie hrst, in all prohahilit\ , to tr\ tin- iiiiplainiiig ot" rcith in
artificial alveoli. This is, at least, what we tleducr tVoni a passat^e in one
of Bourdet's works, in which we read that a charlatan sou<;hr to ini|>ose
on the puhlic the heliet" that he could make a hole in rlu- jawhoru- and
plant therein an expressh- prepared artificial tooth, which in a hriet" space
ot time would hecome pertecth firm and as useful as a natural one.
Bourdet adds that an attentive investigation led to the recognition of" the
said tooth being simply that of a sheep. It would appear, therefore, that
the operation had been in reality performed, it matters but little whether
with the tooth of a sheep or with one of another kind.
JOURDAIN was another eminent writer on dental matters, at this pti iod.
Rather than a true surgeon-dentist like Fauchard and i^ourdet, lourdain
was a general surgeon who had dedicated himself with particular predi-
lection to the stud}- and treatment of oral and maxillary diseases. And
precisely for this reason his writings, although of great scientific impor-
tance, are far from possessing for dental art, properly so-called, the same
value as the works of Fauchard, Bourdet, and other great dentists of the
eighteenth centurv. His works, as Geist-Jacobi justly observes, give us
the impression ot his havmg been a theorist rather than a practical dentist.
In 1759 Jourdam described in the Journal de Mcdecnu^ an improved
pelican and another instrument to be used for straightening teeth inclined
inward. Two years later he published his treatise on the diseases of
Highmore's antrum and on fractures and caries of the maxillary bone."
After this, appeared his book on the formation of the teeth.'' He therein
describes with great accuracy the dental follicle from its first appearing
to the moment of birth, following it throughout its evolution. I'his length\
book is most interesting, for it is not a mere compilation, but gives the
results of personal research and experience. But by tar the most impor-
tant of all the works of this author is his treatise on the diseases and
This book went through several
surgical operations of the mouth. ^
French editions, was translated into (jerman in 1784, and has had, besides,
two English editions in America of comparatively recent date, that is,
at Baltimore in 1849, and at Philadelphia in 1851; all of which proves

' Vol. X, pp. 47 to 148.
- Traite des depots dans le sinus maxillaire, des fractures et des caries de I'une et de I'aurre
machoire, Paris, 1761.
' Essais sur la formation des dents, cornparee avec celle des os, suivis de plusieurs experi-
ences tant sur les os que sur les parties qui entrent dans leur constitution, Paris, 1766.
* Traite des maladies et des operations reellement chirurgicales de la bouclie et des parties
qui y correspondent, suivi de notes, d'observations, et de consultations intcressantes, tant
anciennes que modernes, 2 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1778.