Page 9 - My FlipBook

PREFACE.

THE impetus given to the studv of bacteriology by the
' introduction of the exact methods of bacteriological
investigation now in vogue, has led to discoveries in the domain
of dental and oral pathology which are of the greatest impor-
tance not to the dental surgeon alone but equally to the practi-
tioner of general medicine.
It has been established beyond all question that myriads of
micro-organisms are constantly present in the human mouth, and
that these, under favorable circumstances, are capable of mani-
festing an action of the utmost significance upon the local as
well as the general health of the patient, i!^ot alone are they
responsible for the vast majoritj' of those diseases of the teeth
and contiguous parts which the dental surgeon is called upon to
treat, l)ut they also give rise to other local and general disorders
of the most serious nature.
These various disturbances are produced partly by the direct
action of micro-organisms and their products itpon the teeth and
the mucous membrane of the mouth, partly by constant swal-
lowing of large masses of bacteria, partly by carrying them into
the lungs, particularly in cases of violent inspiration, and, finally,
by their obtaining an entrance into the blood or lynqjh-vessels
in the various ways described in Chapter XT.
The existence of a most excellent nurserv foi' bacti'ria at the