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30 hear of fuch misfortunes, as long as either credulity o? parfimony induce people to apply to the ignorant and uninformed. The various conftruclion and fituation of the teeth, require inftruments of various forms, applicable to their cpnftruction and fituation'. The judicious ex perienced operator, is abundantly fupplied with thefe ; and when a cafe occurs, that requires his profeflional affiftance, he knows how to felect and apply fuch as are adapted to the cafe, advantageoufly. On the contrary, the uninformed", would-be-operator^ feldom poffeffes, or knows the ufe of any other inftrument than a common turnkey ; which he applies in all cafes ; and with his herculean ftrength, murderoufly turns out, either fome part of the tooth, or a large piece of the jaw bone, and too frequently two or three found teeth. A tooth ought invariably to be drawn in the direc tion of its own axis ; or, in other words, in a flraight direction from its natural fituation, which gives but little pain, and obviates accidents. A tooth ftands in the jaw fomething fimilar to a wooden wedge drove firmly into a ftick of wood, which, by removing in any other direction than flraight forward, will inevi tably, either break the wedge and leave the point within the ftick, or fplit out one fide or the other of it : but by removing the wedge in a flraight direction, avoids both one and the other ; and fo vice verfa the teeth. In extracting a tooth, the operator fhould always firft thoroughly feparale the gum from the tooth with a gum lancet, The felection of the ex tracting inftrument muft depend entirely on the judg ment of the operator : it ought always to be adapted to the conflruBion, fze andftuation of the tooth that is to be extracted. In all cafes, however, a tooth ought to be drawn flraight forward ; and never on any confideration whatever, fhould it be drawn laterally, or turned out. This may be eafily effected by an ope rator that poffeffes the inftruments, and underftands