Page 50 - My FlipBook

34 THE TREATMENT OF TEETH
tion that with some makes of crystal gold the
filling can be easily started without pits and without
resorting to wedging in a base of non-cohesive gold.
This very quality may, however, tempt an operator
to fill an improperly prepared cavity, often with
disastrous results ; and the very general temptation
to stuff a cavity full of crystal gold, and imagine,
because each piece stays in place and the surface
finishes up smooth and hard, that the filling is both
well condensed and accurately adapted, will, as a
rule, result in a disappointment that is often attri-
buted to the gold instead of to its mal-manipulation.
It is amusing to hear crystal gold lauded hccause it
can be used successfully with hand pressure, just as
if good hand-pressure fillings could not be made
with foil. It is appalling to see broad-faced pluggers
used exclusively throughout the whole operation of
packing and condensing this gold — particularly if
hand pressure is resorted to, A few experiments
made out of the mouth and a careful examination
of the interior surfaces of the plugs, will convince
any one that the principles that govern the making
of cohesive fillings with foil apply with equal force
to crystal golds, and that the best way to accom-
plish first-class fillings with crystal gold is first to
*'
serve an apprenticeship " to foil. The reason for
this will be made plain by the following quotation