Page 172 - My FlipBook

METHODS OF FILLING TEETH.
158
is more common upon the teeth of children ; and secondly, that it
will be found more frequently upon the upper than iipon the lower
teeth. Both of these are clinical facts which harmonize with my
milk from a
theory. If we pour glass, we observe that the surface of
the is left smeared with an oily residuum. Necessarily the same
glass
must occur when one drinks milk, allowing it to flow over the enameled
surfaces of the teeth. Children drink more milk than their elders,
which explains why the green-stain is more common with them ; and
as the tumbler or cup is placed to the mouth, the edge rests upon the
which in turn covers and
lower lip, protects the lower teeth, so that
the fluid passes into the oral cavity flowing more freely over the
teeth than the lower. Thus we should
upper anticipate the stain
more often above than below. It is my belief that the fermentation
of this residuum from the milk, which adheres to the enamel, produces
the I have adopted this theory after of
green-stain. many years
inquiry, during which I have found more than ninety per cent, of
those exhibiting the stain, whether children or adults, admitting that
milk formed a large part of their diet. Moreover, I have in a way
such
proved the theory, by having patients promise to cleanse the
teeth thoroughly with brush and hot water after their milk, the result
being that the stain has not recurred where the advice has been
followed. This I think a sufficient connection between the two as
cause and effect, though I do not make the claim that green-stain
may not be possible as a consequence of other ferments.
The chief point of interest in connection with green-stain is that,
unlike other deposits upon the teeth, this one almost invariably acts
If removed with a rubber disk and
destructively. pumice-powder,
the enamel will be found chalky in color and consistency. Fig. 181
shows a central incisor from which the stain has been removed, the
at a where the enamel is found decalcified. If
stippling indicating
taken in time, this will be so superficial that it may be stoned away
with a corundum, without penetrating to the dentine, in which case
it is advisable to follow that course, and then highly polish the enamel.
Later, the underlying surface will be found as in Fig. 182, where we
see three small cavities surrounded by an area of decalcification, as
indicated by the stippling in the illustration. There is nothing to be
done here except to unite the cavities, removing all of the defective
enamel, and fill with gold. Fig. 183 is introduced to show how
great devastation may be occasioned by green-stain, and is a case
from practice, found in the mouth of a miss of ten. This is a central
incisor in which a large, irregular cavity appears in the center of the
labial face, the boundaries of which, however, do not limit the destruc-
tion, the stippling again indicating an area of decalcification. In the
mouth in question both centrals were thus injured, and similar though