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THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURT 339

this object in view, he made up his mind first to obtain the diploma of
surgeon-dentist. To reach this aim, he was obhged to conform to the
regulations ot the Edict of Max, 1699, which then regulated the practis-
ing of dentistr} , and this was as much as to say that he was obliged to enter
the College of Surger}', to undertake two years' practice with a regularh-
licensed surgeon, to undergo theoretical and practical examinations, and
to take oath before the Chief Surgeon of the Realm. Once in possession
of the diploma of surgeon-dentist, he was separated thenceforward from
the vulgar crowd of charlatans and invested with all the prestige which
a degree, so rareh' acquired at that time, conferred upon its possessor;
but before facing public opinion he desired to make himself known,
and, so to say, first to try his ground, by making known some of his newer
ideas, and see what reception they might meet with from his colleagues
and the public in general. He, therefore, published, in januar\', 1741,
in the newspaper Merciire dc France, a letter on the so-called eye tooth,^
combating the then widely diffused prejudice that the extraction of an
upper canine constituted a grave peril to the eye. He demonstrated the
absurdity of this idea by putting in evidence the anatomical fact that
the upper canines are inner\ated by the infra-orbital nerve, which has no
relation whatever with the visual organ.
Still better to further his object of making himself a name, he published
in the same year and in the aforementioned paper his dissertation on the
teeth of pregnant women.- There he demonstrated the falseness of the
idea that one ought never to extract teeth during the state of gestation,
and brought into relief the necessity of treating the dental diseases of
pregnant women with still more accurac}' than those of other persons.
These publications, bearing as they did the marks of good sense,
favorabh interested the public opinion. The way was therefore prepared,
and Bunon judging the moment to have come for publishing his work,
placed it in the hands of a literary man for the necessary corrections of
style. He also showed his manuscript to several persons of consideration,
but was grieved to perceive that the new ideas put forward in it were
skeptically received. He now thought it might be as well to appeal to the
judgment of a highh' competent authority, and fixed on M. de la Pe\ronie,
Head Surgeon of the Realm. This gentleman, after reading the work,
highly praised the author, and Bunon gained permission to publish the
book under his patronage, on consideration that he should give his word
to furnish the proof of the many assertions made therein on all kinds of
subjects.

' Lettre sur la pretendue dent ceillere.
- Sur un prejuge tres pernicieux, concernant les maux de dents c|ui sur\iennent aux femines
grosses.