Page 192 - My FlipBook

160 HISTORY OF DENTAL SURGERY

with a liingod handle, he says : "These mirrors have always apj^eared to me to
be very contemptible instrnmente; they are too small, and I have seldom
seen one whic-h gives a good representation." He had them made of steel
in many different shapes and sizes, though he says ''three, of different magni-
fying powers, will be sufficient."' They were polished to the highest possible
degree, they were warmed before using so as not to condense moisture from
the breath and were carefully dried after use to prevent tarnishing and were
very durable. When dulled they could be repolished.
Snell describes minutely the various uses of the file, which he appears to
have relied upon for the removal of caries in every case where it could be ac-
complished without too great mutilation of the teeth.
The chapter on filling teeth, or "stopping" as he calls it, is very interesting,
but in comparison with the present time very inadequate and unsatisfactory
as regards instruments, materials, and modes of operating. He says "stop-
ping teeth is an operation of very ancient date, having been used as a remedy
for disease, as well as for tlie pur])o?e of filling up cavities, if very large, in
order to assist in the safe extraction of the tooth." He goes on to say : "There
is no subject connected with dental surgery of more importance than that
of 'stopping.' There is none better deserving the attention of the student,
nor is there any in which the dentist nuiy nujre successfully display his pro-
fessional skill. Were we to judge indeed from the almost innumeralile cases
of failure wliich occur, we might conclude tliat the uncertainty of the opera-
tion was so great as essentially to diminish its utility and importance. These
cases, however, generally occur under the management of ignorant persons,
who are alike incompetent to the mechanical and tlie surgical j^art of the
o])eration, and who are equally incapable of choosing tlie proper time for its
performance."" Again be says: ''In stopping teeth it should always be remem-
bered that tiiere is no medium between complete success and the total want
of it. If disease is not perfectly eradicated, the operation is in point of fact
a failure. It is but procrastinating a little the destruction of the infected
tooth. * * * The operation is at best one of considerable uncertainty.
However early the diseased tooth may come imder the care of the dentist;
however judiciously it may be stopped, no one can predict with confidence
that it shall nut fall into decay at some other part, or several parts, at various
periods after the operation."
We are certainly able now to take a more hopeful view of tlie prob-
able benefits of filling teeth, though it must be confessed that Snell's