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CHAPTER XXII.
PLANTATION OF TEETH.

By Louis Ottofy, D. D. S.

The teansplaxtatiox of a tooth signifies the insertion of a nat-
ural tooth into a natural alveolus other than the one it originally occu-
pied. The tooth may be an old and dry specimen transplanted into an
alveolus from which a tooth has been recently removed, or it may be a
freshly extracted tooth transplanted from one part of the mouth of an
individual to another part of the mouth of the same individual, or it
may be a freshly extracted tooth transplanted from the mouth of one
person into that of another.
Replaxtatiox signifies the replacing of a tootli in the alveolus
whence it had been removed by design or accident. The operation may
be performed at once or at any time before the socket is filled with new
tissue.
Under the term implantation are included all those operations
which involve the formation of an artificial alveolus for the reception
of the root of a human tooth. The operation of altering the size or
form of an existing alveolus to receive a tooth belongs to this class,
although it is a combination of trans- and implantation.
The operation of rephintation probably far antedated that of trans-
plantation, as the latter preceded implantation, but its definite history
is unknown. It is safe to presume that it has been practiced ever since
mankind conceived of the natural healing power of the body. Even
when performed with crudity and without any clear comprehension
of the mode of repair, favorable results have been reported. The ope-
ration is at present an uncommon one : the condition for the relief of
which it was at one time practiced with comparative frequency, chronic
alveolar abscess, has been found amenable to less radical treatment.
The operatioii of transplantation is first noted in the writings of
Ambroise Pare in the sixteentli century, though credit has generally
been given to Dr. John Hunter, wlio gave the subject considerable
attention. Hunter's experiment of im[)hinting a tooth in the comb of
a cock is classical. The records of the operation do not exhibit any
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