Page 209 - My FlipBook

From Infancy to old Age. 1S9'
vacant stare of the maniac, who, the more he stares, the less
he discerns : in order to avoid this, let us commence at some
point, and examine the whole successively and minutely, and
note any appearance, however small, or trivial, that does not
correspond with the healthy appearances above described. In
this manner, with a little attention and practice, we shall be
able to detect the least appearance of disease; but, if we
examine with a hurried, general, and indistinct glance at
the parts, our information will be corresponding, and of little
Value. Those persons who examine thus may wait and wait,
until their abused vision will painfully behold What a more
discriminating one, with a little manual aid might easily havfc
averted.
This appearance it should maintain up to the sixth or eight!!
menlh of its age ; the common time for the commencement
of the first dentition, at which time, the gums, instead of
exhibiting the appearance above described, will become at
certain points swollen, discolored or more florid ; and to the
touch less elastic and more tender, more heat, and betraying
an itching sensation; the saliva will be more viscid and
abundant, all of which will be the concommitants of
symptoms of a more general character, but which need not
be enumerated here; this is the commencement of the
first dentition. The period is somewhat critical, and the
symptoms will need to be closely watched, in order to see
that the teeth pierce the gums without too much delay, and
without occasioning too much nervous irritation ; which if
found to be the case, the prdcess must be aided and accelerated
by scarifying the gums ; that is* cutting them through with a
sharp instrument directly at the swollen points and over the
advancing tooth; and if the tooth lie deep-, the incision should
be made crucial or crosswise, and kept 'open by means of a
little lint pressed into it, or the operation will need to be re-
peated until the tooth finds its way quite through the gum.
These symptoms will recur in a greater or less degree, and
this process need to be observed until the child gets ten teeth