Page 197 - My FlipBook

HISTOEY OF DENTAL SURGEEY 165 ;

A cylindrical cavity with a flat bottom is Snell's ideal, or it may be oval, but
sliould always, if possible, lia\e tlie diameter at the bottom no greater than
at the orifice. After insisting upon the removal of every particle of caries
and perfect drying of the cavity, he describes the operation of filling as follows:
"A portion of gold should be taken more than sufficient to fill the cavity
for should it be too small, it will be useless, as no second piece can be intro-
duced with success. It must consequently be removed, and that part of the
operation commenced afresh with a larger piece of gold.
''The gold should be introduced with one of the stopping instruments hav-
ing a curve suited exactly to the situation of the aperture, and lieing some-
what less in circumference than the hole itself. The gold should not be
pressed too hard until the hole is partly filled, Init care must be taken that it
thoroughly fills every part of the cavity as the operation goes on. Having
firmly pressed the gold in, sufficient should be left to form a little cone; a
stopper should then be chosen the e.xact size of the cavity with which farther
pressure should be made, which if Ihe instrument is well chosen and the gold
properly inserted, will r.ct upon every part of the plug. This being completed,
all the extraneous gold should be removed and the operation finished by
]iolisbing the surface with a suitable burni.sher."
The pulp of the tooth the author calls the "lining membrane" and refers to
it by no other name. His treatment of diseased teeth for their preservation ap-
pears to have been limited to those with pulps alive. His remedies for sensitive,
inflamed or ulcerated pulps are chiefly acetate of morphia, nitrate of silver
and the actual cauter)', tlie latter appearing to be a favorite treatment, which he
describes in detail. He used a steel instrument with a bulb at the end into
which was screwed a short piece of platinimi wire. "Wlien heated to a white
heat the bulb retained the heat long enough to keep the platinum wire
hot to accomplish the purpose. In closing his description he says : '"The use
of the actual cautery has been condemned by some, and in its place the
argentum nitratum substituted. I really think that this dislike to the former
operation must have originated from its having been performed in an uu-
])rofessional manner, for it is superior in every respect not only to tlie com-
mon caustic, but to all others. Dentists occasionally recommend camphor,
spirits of wine, and other applications to be applied, on lint, to a tender tooth,
giving patients to understand that such treatment will eventually destroy
sensibility. To the use of all such applications I would give a decided nega-
tive; morphine alone will occasionally be useful in slight cases. In all others
it will be better either at once to extract tlie tooth, if it admits not of any