Page 74 - My FlipBook

60 METHODS OF FILLING TEETH.

at best they leave a filed surface. Would we deliver a gold plate
which showed file-marks ? If not, why should we leave a filling in
such a condition? It must be remembered that the cavity-border
up under the gum-line may be accessible while the cavity is empty,
but the placing of a properly contoured filling must make it more
than ever inaccessible, so that the gingival border may become utterly
concealed. An amalgam filling may be made flush at this important
point while it is yet plastic, and the utmost care should be used to
make it so at the time of filling, for if a gold filling is difficult to polish,
an after is even more so.
amalgam filling, hardening,
It is claimed by some that it is good practice to build with amalgam
from one approximal cavity across into another in the adjacent tooth.
This seems to be of doubtful merit, and rather to be condemned than
advocated. However that may be, it is generally admitted that a
in an must not out and the
filling approximal cavity jut press upon
gum-tissue. Moreover, care must be taken not to force particles of
amalgam under the gum, which by being left may bring about a
condition of ulceration. Where the dam cannot be placed, I have
found a means of this Take a bit of
accomplishing very nicely.
bibulous paper and make a tight rope of it, thick enough to just pass
between the teeth. This rope is to be laid against the gum and
pressed up beyond the cavity-margin, which can be done more often
than would seem to those who have not tried This
possible it.
effectually prevents any material from passing beyond the gum-line,
and when drawn out after the tooth is filled leaves a well-defined
space,
wherein the burnishers may be used for properly shaping the filling
along the gingival margin. Nevertheless, in spite of the efficacy of
this, it is usually advisable to thoroughly syringe the parts with warm
water, using a syringe which will throw a stream with considerable
force, placing the point at the gum-line, so that the water passes be-
tween the teeth and washes out any debris.
In of the fact that I have here advised the use of
spite amalgam
in cases where the gingival margin is above the gum-line, yet I
would the use of this material for
distinctly deprecate patching gold
fillings which have failed in that locality. I think it would be better
to remove the leaky filling entirely before refilling, for certainly I have
seen numerous successful cases where the amalgam had been placed
along the gingival border first, and a completion of the filling made
with gold subsequently. Let me not be misunderstood, therefore.
It is not the use of amalgam in connection with gold that I deprecate,
but only its use as &patch near the gum-margin. This brings us to the
consideration of amalgam in combination with other materials. It has
been successfully used with gold in two ways. The most widely
known is where the amalgam is placed along that part of a cavity
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