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HISTOIJY OF DENTAL SURGEEY 317

thick piece of silver to whicli is attaclied a thin process, about the size of a
broacli; the silver bulb gives heat to the broach-like appendage, which is put
into the tooth to expel the moisture." When the tooth is thoroughly dried suit-
aide disinfectants are used and the canals filled. This instrument has been ex-
tensivel}' used and is known as the Evans root drier. Dr. J. H. Wooley, of
Chicago, devised a very similar instrument made of copper instead of silver.
At a clinic of the Odontological Society of Pennsylvania in January, 1888,
("Cosmos," Vol. XXX, p. 269), Dr. H. C. Register dried the root canals of a
tooth with compressed air heated to 130°. Dr. Register devised an apparatus
for using compressed air, with or without heat, which has l)een known by his
name.
In the "Cosmos" (Vol. XXXV, pp. 22-25, 1893) was published a transla-
tion of a paper by Dr. Emil Schwier, of Vienna, in which he advocates a new
remedy prepared by himself for the disinfection and cleansing of teeth contain
ing gangrenous pulps. "Its elements are potassium and sodium in metallic form,
and prepared in such a manner that it will adhere sufficiently to a barbed
nerve broach in small particles * * * The two alkali metals inserted into
the root-canal come into contact with a watery liquid. Immediately the well
known stormy reaction takes place ; the water is decomposed, with the develop-
ment of considerable heat, by the production of potassium and sodium
hydroxid and hydrogen. This latter burns up partly."
The effei'vescence helps to expel the contents of the canal and the treat-
ment is undoubtedly effective, but has not come into very general use, owing,
probably, to the objectionable characteristics of the substances used.
In tlie "Cosmos" (Vol. XXXVI, p. 329, 1894), is a paper read before the
Ohio State Dental Society. Dr. J. R. Callahan, of Cincinnati, described his
method of using a twenty to fifty per cent, aqueous solution of sulphuric acid to
assist in the enlargement and cleansing of pulp canals, especially those so
small as to be impossible for ordinary methods. If very small he places a
pellet of cotton saturated with the solution in the pulp chamber, sealing it
and leaving for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, after which, or sometimes
at the first sitting, the acid solution can be worked into the canals with a fine
Donaldson canal cleanser, the acid softening the canal walls sufficiently for
the cleanser to cut away enough for the necessary enlargement. The acid
will also dispose of any remnants of pulp tissue and thoroughly sterilize the
pulp chamber and canals. If the conditions are normal and the apical space
healthy the acid will not usually work through the foramen, though if a little
should do so it will not create much disturbance. If there is an abscess it