Page 447 - My FlipBook

GUTTA PERCHA. 445

Dental Uses.—Combined with mineral substances it forms a
plastic material for temporary fillings of teeth, and, colored with
vermilion, is used for taking impressions of the mouth and for the
base plates of plastic work. It is often employed as a filling
material, on account of its non-conducting property, protecting a
partially exposed pulp or sensitive dentine surface from irritation
when metallic fillings would not be tolerated. Gutta percha has
also been used for interdental splints.
The preparation known as " Hill's Stopping " is composed of
gutta percha, quicklime and feldspar, the mineral ingredients be-
ing incorporated with the gutta percha while the latter is in a
plastic condition from the effects of heat.
Solution of Gutta Percha— Liquor Gutta Percha, Chloro-
percha, is composed of gutta percha, .3iss ; chloroform, .5xvij ; or
a thick solution may be made by dissolving as much gutta percha
in chloroform as will give the desired consistence (generally like
that of thick cream).
Solution of gutta percha is a useful application for the relief of
odontalgia arising from an exposed and inflamed pulp \ also for
capping an exposed pulp, a more durable material being inserted
over it. The chloroform of the solution quickly evaporates, leav-
ing an impermeable covering of the gutta percha, which is non-
irritable, non-conductive and protective. It is also a useful
application for inflamed or abraded surfaces, chaps, skin affections,
etc. Gutta percha dissolved in chloroform {chloro-perchd) is also a
popular and efficient material for root fillings, as are also cones of
gutta percha softened by heat or dipped in chloroform. The chloro-
percha solution and cotton is a useful agent, the chloro-percha
solution being of such a consistence, neither too thin nor too
thick, that the cotton will absorb it. Being of an adhesive nature,
it will readily adhere to walls of cavities and to tooth-surfaces,
and is useful to retain medicines and exclude moisture, to wedge
the teeth, to force back gum tissue, to assist in retaining clamps
in position, etc. The red gutta percha of base plates is preferred
by some in making the chloro-percha solution on account of its
color rendering it easy to detect in the mouth, and also to deter-
mine how much of the solution the cotton has absorbed.