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P. 187
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SEPARATION OF THE TEETH. 185
The consequences of breaches of continuity, especially in relation to
the posterior teeth, are often of serious import. Not only may the food
be driven into the space, to the discomfort of the ])atient, but serious
injury of the gum may follow, as in many cases the tissue becomes
inflamed by the impaction of food in the enlarged interspace, which in-
duces peridental disturbances and may occasion the ultimate loss of the
aifected tooth. It is also not unimportant to consider that the forms of
the teeth have an esthetic value, and that the harmony of the features
forbids the mutilation of their natural forms.
Separation of the Teeth.
Separation of the teeth is a procedure requiring care to avoid injury
and to render the process comparatively painless.
When the teeth are mobile, as in the case of children, the movement
is more easily and more quickly made than when the alveolar walls are
compact and when also the teeth are in close proximity. In the former
case the arch easily expands and permits the teeth to yield ; in the other
case the resistance requires more force to be used and the application
of it for a longer period. In all instances the force and the material
used should be adapted to the presented conditions and the movement
should be sustained until the required space is gained, it being dele-
terious to make repeated attempts to separate the same pair of teeth.
When the proper precautions are taken there is no dauger attending
the process ; even the firmest structures of mature age permit sufficient
spacing if it be slowly and steadily done.
METHODS OF MAKING SEPAEATIONS.
The means by which these are effected are various and the choice is
determined by the amount of space required, the time in which it must
be accomplished, and the firmness of the supporting structures. Some
regard must also be had for the peculiar susceptibilities of the patient
to the pain which may be caused by the effort. These methods are
by immediate wedging, which may be made when the fixation of the
teeth is not firm ; by the swelling of firmly impacted pellets of cotton
or of tape, and by the resilience of strips of caoutchouc where the teeth
are in general contact and where they are firmly fixed.
Immediate -wedging- is more applicable to the front teeth, where
usually only a small space is required, and is a valuable method of
securing a separation of the front teeth to determine their condition
and to permit polishing strips to be inserted for the removal of super-
ficial discolorations and for the treatment of superficial softening. Here
the ])rocedure is to insert a wooden wedge between the incisors near the
incisive edge, when it is forced by pressure or by percussion until a suf-
SEPARATION OF THE TEETH. 185
The consequences of breaches of continuity, especially in relation to
the posterior teeth, are often of serious import. Not only may the food
be driven into the space, to the discomfort of the ])atient, but serious
injury of the gum may follow, as in many cases the tissue becomes
inflamed by the impaction of food in the enlarged interspace, which in-
duces peridental disturbances and may occasion the ultimate loss of the
aifected tooth. It is also not unimportant to consider that the forms of
the teeth have an esthetic value, and that the harmony of the features
forbids the mutilation of their natural forms.
Separation of the Teeth.
Separation of the teeth is a procedure requiring care to avoid injury
and to render the process comparatively painless.
When the teeth are mobile, as in the case of children, the movement
is more easily and more quickly made than when the alveolar walls are
compact and when also the teeth are in close proximity. In the former
case the arch easily expands and permits the teeth to yield ; in the other
case the resistance requires more force to be used and the application
of it for a longer period. In all instances the force and the material
used should be adapted to the presented conditions and the movement
should be sustained until the required space is gained, it being dele-
terious to make repeated attempts to separate the same pair of teeth.
When the proper precautions are taken there is no dauger attending
the process ; even the firmest structures of mature age permit sufficient
spacing if it be slowly and steadily done.
METHODS OF MAKING SEPAEATIONS.
The means by which these are effected are various and the choice is
determined by the amount of space required, the time in which it must
be accomplished, and the firmness of the supporting structures. Some
regard must also be had for the peculiar susceptibilities of the patient
to the pain which may be caused by the effort. These methods are
by immediate wedging, which may be made when the fixation of the
teeth is not firm ; by the swelling of firmly impacted pellets of cotton
or of tape, and by the resilience of strips of caoutchouc where the teeth
are in general contact and where they are firmly fixed.
Immediate -wedging- is more applicable to the front teeth, where
usually only a small space is required, and is a valuable method of
securing a separation of the front teeth to determine their condition
and to permit polishing strips to be inserted for the removal of super-
ficial discolorations and for the treatment of superficial softening. Here
the ])rocedure is to insert a wooden wedge between the incisors near the
incisive edge, when it is forced by pressure or by percussion until a suf-
