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26 HISTORY OF DE:XTAL SUEGEKY

rosemary, salvia, camomile flowers, cloves and mace, steeped in good wine
i:iitil the whole t|uantity is reduced to one-third; this to be held in the mouth
while warm and the teeth rinsed.
The next dental diliiculty mentioned is "dcntium commotio," which is
described as a loosening of the teeth and a premature dropping out of the same,
which he says is the result of carelessness, weakness, or disease of the gums and
the deprivation of blood from the thing that holds the teeth.
When this loosening occurs as the result of local or internal disturbance,
he recommends the use of constitutional and local remedies, but when the
loosening is the result of a blow or fall he recommends a ligature of silk or gold
wire attached to the firm and uninjured teeth, and counsels the use of soft
foods. He quotes the recommendations of Cornelius Celsus of medicines that
harden and contract the tissues, and especially recommends the use of "wine in
which burning gall apples have been dropped and extinguished." As a sub-
stitute for this he recommends the ashes of burnt deer's horn, which he says
can be used either by rubbing on the teeth or to rinse the mouth with, and the
teeth will grow firm. The shavings of deer's horns used in like manner, he
claims, have equal efficacy. Olives boiled in water and olive oil used as n
mouth wash are also recommended.
The author then proceeds to describe worms in the teeth and gives the
following prescription: "Take mushroom seed, garlic seed and onion seed;
boil these together in vinegar, hold this in the mouth and rinse it. After this
take these same seeds, ])owder them and pour over it fat that is taken from
near the kidneys, make little cakes out of these as large as beans, then place
one of these cakes on burning coals, put an inverted funnel over this and let
the smoke enter into the mouth, and that will kill the worms."
The next chapter is devoted "to boils, mal-odorous and disintegrating
gums." For the treatment of a boil he recommends that it be pressed with the
finger, and if this is not sufficient to cure it, that a suitable, small, sharp hook
be introduced, ''the fdth thus removed and the mouth then rinsed with vinegar
or wine in which honey and salvia have been boiled." If the gums have an
offensive odor, he recommends that "cinnamon, cloves and mcense be rubbed
upon the teeth." and for the putrifying gum he recommends a mixture of alum
and honey with which the tissues are to be painted, and in case the condition
does not yield to this treatment he recommends constitutional treatment with
purgatives.
The author next considers extraction of the teeth and remarks: "If the
pain cannot be stilled in any manner heretofore considered, and if the keeping