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410 CONSERVATIVE TREATMENT OF THE PULP.
formalin : tlie first in the strength of 1 to .'^OO parts water ; the second,
1 to 200 parts ; tlie tliird, not stronger tlian 3 per cent.
Tlie saturated })ledget of cotton may remain in the cavity during the
procedures of the preparation of the dressing paste, the selection of the
dried, the drying being finished by a few puifs of warmed air. The
point of exposure and the adjacent dentin are now touched with lint,
filled with carbolic acid and oil of cloves, equal parts. The effect
of tliis is to coagulate to a superficial degree the point of exposure.
This practice is largely empirical. It may be avoided in cases where
no disturbance has previously existed ; but where there are evidences
of irritation it seems indispensable.
The application of carbolic acid in this manner should be for a
moment only. As carbolic acid has a very feeble affinity for water and
as the topical touch is but momentary, it probably does not invade the
tissue to an appreciable degree. It will also be observed that the com-
bination possesses anesthetic properties.
The student will not fail to hold in view that the treatment is appli-
cable to cases in which it is evident the pnlp tissue is not under much
irritation. The condition should be one of hyperemia of the organ and
gives indications of this by the existing hyperesthesia. Congestion
should not have taken place, neither should inflammatory indications
exist. Therefore the inference is that after the carious matter is removed
the surface of the dentin and the point of exposure may be sterilized
and the vital force of the pnlp be given the opportunity to overcome
whatever slight bacterial invasion may have reached that organ. Here
the case must rest upon the well-established fact that the tissues have
considerable power of mastering the influence of non-pathogenic germs
as a factor in the process of recuperation.
Treatment of Old Exposures.—In the conditions which exist
where denudation has taken place to a considerable degree and where
irritation has long continued, the disturbances which have arisen in
consequence of the extension of the disorder to the larger bloodvessels
and the attendant alteration of most of the anatomical elements of the
pulp, the chances of establishing quiescence are slight.
In the earliest stages of objective disturbances when the constitu-
tional conditions are favorable an attempt may be made at conservative
treatment after the inflammatory conditions are subdued by antiseptic
treatment, accompanied by the use of resorbents and counter-irritation
upon the gum.
