Page 23 - My FlipBook

not see it with the eye. When you have examined the buccal
and labial mucous membranes throw the patient back a lit-
tle and get the light into the roof of the mouth and see the
membranes, in that position; see whether there are any fis-
tulae, and if there are any points that you are uncertain about,
pass the finger over them and try the sense of touch. When
you have done that, throw the patient forward and tip the
mouth in that way (demonstrating), get the chin down so
that the light comes into the lower part of the mouth ; then
pass your fingers about and examine the lower buccal por-
tion of the mouth and see whether or not there are any
fistulae, any points of the gum that are too short, any points
receding, or anything of that sort. Now at that point it will
be necessary for you to have the mouth mirror to examine
the lingual surfaces. You will throw the light upon them or
examine them in the mirror by reflection, and in a few mo-
ments you have passed over the mouth and will have obtained
information as to the condition of the gums and peridental
membranes.
If you are going to make a thorough examination, the
next thing you will do will be to take a smooth, flat-pointed
scaler, not sharp, even though the mouth may appear free
from calculus, and pass it around the necks of the teeth.
You want to do this in a regular order. Let the point drop
down between the gingivae and the tooth and see whether
or not there are points at which the gums are loosened from
the teeth; see if there are any pockets. You needn't hurt
your patient ; hold the instrument very lightly and pass it
around first the one and then another tooth. It takes only a
few minutes to run around the buccal surfaces of all of them
and know whether or not there are any pockets that are
likely to cause trouble. Then when you have passed around
the buccal and labial sides follow around the lingual and run
the instrument into the interproximate spaces. Just a few
moments in that regular order and you will have gone around
the arch, and if you have done it carefully a pyorrhea pocket
is not likely to escape you. Then do the same with the upper
jaw. Throw the patient back a little if it is necessary to get
the light, and go around every tooth, going around the buccal
first, from interproximate space to interproximate space.
You will learn to do that very quickly and it will save you