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Plugging the Teeth. 119
dentists possess. The late Mr. Hudson, of Philadelphia, used
to apply astringents, as nut-gall, to the naked nerves to occa-
sion their contraction, to enable him to plug the teeth. We
doubt if this practice possesses much utility.
We will mention for the benefit of professional readers, that
Dr. Torrey, Professor of Chemistry in the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, recommends a little asbestos to be put
into the cavity of a tender tooth, previously to plugging. As
it is very soft and insoluble in water, he thinks it may prove
of great advantage.
If the nerve of a tooth be much exposed, we think it much
the better practice to destroy it at once, by means of the arse-
nic, and then to plug the tooth securely. All other methods
of treatment are often abortive, and if successful, the nerve
often dies away gradually.
OF THE MATERIALS PROPER FOR STOPPING THE TEETH.
M Materials for stojjping teeth.—Various materials and
metals have been proposed for stopping the teeth, all of
which are more or less objectionable. Lead, tin, and silver,
are frequently employed for this purpose, but they are all
destitute of the properties indispensi'ole to success, in the
performance of the operation. Any of these metals will
protect the cavity from caries, for a short period only. They
will all soon corrode, and then become more injurious than
the original disease; and in every case will ultimately prove
the cause of destruction to the tooth, which might have
been preserved by proper treatment. Although platina is a
more suitable metal than any one of those above mentioned,
yet, in consequence of the necessity of amalgamating some
other metal with it, to render it melleable, it is by this adul-
teration rendered insufficient for the purpose. It is never ac-
companied by that cleanly and bright appearance, so desirable
for teeth that have been stopped ; but it is productive of a dingy
opacity of the tooth's surface, which is apt to mislead the
dentist at a future period, into an idea of its being again