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HISTOJ{Y OF DENTAL SUKGEKY 205

Pennsylvania State Dental Society, in which is described, in all essential fea-
tures, the present method of making inlays by burnishing a matrix of gold or
platinum into the cavity and baking porcelain into it, afterward stripping off
the metal. He used the Downie porcelains and the Downie gas furnace, but
the Custer electric furnace was mentioned in the discussion. Dr. Christensen,
for large inlays in molar teeth, advised removing the cement from the surface
of the joint with a pointed excavator while soft, or with a small bur after hard-
ening, and tilling the narrow groove thus made with amalgam so as to protect
tlie cement.
At the meeting of the Dental Society of the State of New York, in May,
189G, ("Cosmos," Vol. XXXVUI, pp. G93 and 931), Dr. K. Ottolengui re-
ported a correspondence with many European practitioners on the subject of
porcelain and glass inlays, and his own experience with them. Letters were
read from nine well known practitioners, including the two Davenports, of
Paris: Dr. Elliot, of Florence, Italy: Dr. W. E. Eoyce, of Tunbridge Wells,
England: Dr. Wilhelm Sachs, of Breslau, Germany; Dr. William Jlitchell, of
Lijndon. and Dr. Jenkins, of Dresden. With one or two exceptions all
these men gave aesthetic reasons as the chief or only ones for
jjrefcrring porcelain to gold and regarded the operations as of short
duration com]iarcd with gold fillings, owing to the ixnreliability of
the cement used for setting. Most of them got the most satisfac-
tion out of the ones they ground to fit the cavities, using the porcelain
rods made for tliat purpose, or sometimes pieces of artificial teeth. Those
wh(.) fused tlie inlay in a matrix a]i])ear lo have u.sed glass or low fusing por-
celain. This is exident from their using gold for the matrix, though Dr.
Wel)b, of Home, used a ])latinum matrix, bulling the inlay with porcelain
ijodies. Dr. Ottolengui said: "Dr. Jenkins, of Dresden, writes that he be-
lieves that Ills most recent discoveries in connection with low fusing porce-
lains bring the work to a high state of ]X'rfection, but that until he has tested
some of the details of his present method a little longer he prefers not to
publish." He adds: '"From what I have heard of the work done by Dr. Jen-
kins I am satisfied that his statement is correct." He also mentions, as
original with Dr. Jenkins, the fusing of a bit of blown glass over the finished
inlay, ''forming a glazed or enamc-l surface of great beauty." In the dis-
cussion, participated in by a number of well known New \"ork men, the fused
porcelain or glass inlay had liut few friends. Most of those present had
seen few or none that were satisfactory. The most approved inlays, in the
estimation of most of the speakers, were the old form, made of ground pieces