Page 957 - My FlipBook

TREATMENT OF CALCIC INFLAMMATION. 967

extreme congestion. This is applied to the best advantage by
wliat is known as Farrar's syringe (Fig-
Si 6), by the use of which the remedy is Fig. 516.
placed in the exact position, and in the
amount desired. This instrument, or some
instrument that possesses its advantages,
should be u.sed for the application of any
of the remedies for this disease, except, it
may be, the milder washes with which the
patient may be entrusted. Without such an
appliance it is simply impossible to place
the remedies in the position required. The
only ])oint at which the application of rem-
edies is especially effective is under the frep
margin of the gum, and instruments must be
iised by which this can be accomplished. In
these cases escharotics should not be used in
the after-treatment, except within the first
few days. Remedies of this class reduce the
vitality of the tissues to which they are ap-
plied ; indeed, unless they are used for the
purpose of destroying something that serves
to keep up the irritation, such as micro-
organisms in the outer strata of partially
dead tissue, or for the complete destruction
of tissue so low in the scale of vitality as to
make this advisable, they should not be ap-
plied at all. With this end in view, it is
occasionally well to use carbolic acid full
95 per cent, in the beginning of the treat-
ment. Magitot has advised the use of
clu'omic acid ; other cauterants also may be
used. But after one or two applications any
of these substances should be discarded in
favor of those remedies that tend more to
the stimulation of the tissues. For this
purpose there is perhaps nothing better than
tlie oil of cinnamon. The ordinary cinna- Farrar's Syringe for the Application
of Remedies in Diseases of the
mon water makes a very agreeable wa.sh,
Peridental IVJembrane.
but is not of sufficient strength to be very
effective. Where there is great tissue-injury, I have found the fol-
lowing an excellent remedy :
Take of Oil of cinnamon, dr. iv.
Oil of gaultheria, dr. iv.
Carbolic acid (crystals), dr Mix.
This may be freely used on the brush, or may be made into an emul-
sion in water at the time of using, and in that way used as a wash.
This is at once a fairly good antiseptic and stimulant, and is a very
efficient remedy. The principal indication is to keep the parts clean,