Page 342 - My FlipBook

320 THIRD PERIOD—MODERN TIMES

pulp as an indispensable condition of the success of the tilling to be later
carried out in order to conserve the tooth.
Hunter is extremely concise when speaking of the filling of teeth;
considering the great importance of this argument, his conciseness
can only depend on his having had no personal experience in the matter.
He considers lead preferable for fillings.
The frequent occurrence of erosion oi the teeth, whether of the cuneiform
variety or of other kinds, did not escape the attention of this acute observer,
but he was not able to give any explanation of it.
In cases of empyema of Highmore's antrum, Hunter advises the
opening of the cavitv through the alveolus ot the first or second large
molar.
Periodontitis is classified by the author among the diseases of the
alveolar process. He occupies himself with this affection at great length,
seeking to explain the mode in which it is produced. He distinguishes
two forms of the disease, according to whether or not there be exit of
pus from the alveolus. The alveolar process is, in his opinion, the
principal seat of the disease, to which, as a complication, is added the retrac-
tion of the gums. For the diseased alveolus the tooth becomes, in a
certain manner, an extraneous body, of which it tends to rid itself. The
alveolar margins undergo absorption; the bottom of the alveolus tends to
fill up, analogously to what occurs after extraction, and the falling out of
the tooth ensues as a natural consequence of this process. An altogether
similar process, producing the falling out of the teeth, is the normal
consequence of senility.
The author considers that the malady in question has as its point of
departure an irritation caused by a tooth; and as almost a proof of this
he relates a case in which the extraction of the affected tooth, an upper
incisor which became too long, and the transplantation of another tooth
caused the cessation of the morbid process and the perfect consolida-
tion of the transplanted tooth. However, Hunter does not draw from
this isolated case the conclusion that transplantation may be elevated
to a method of cure for this malady. Indeed, he says that, so far as is
known to him, there is no means of prevention or of cure for it. His
treatment, therefore, is merely directed to the curing, in so far as is
possible, the phlogistic symptoms, by scarifications of the gum and by the
use ot astringent remedies. He does not exclude the possibility of a com-
plete recovery, but the mode in which this obtains seems to him as obscure
as is the nature of the disease itself.
In speaking of the correction of dental irregularities. Hunter advises
not to extract the milk teeth unless this be an absolute necessity. He
says, besides, that it is useless to extract any tooth whatever, unless one
endeavors at the same time to force the irregular tooth or teeth into their