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208 CLASSIFICATION OF DECAYED CAVITIES.

face of the tooth, leaving only the enamel, which by
the mode of separating or opening, already described,
would be cut away.

Great care must be taken to arrange and dispose
the napkins and bibulous paper so as to protect the
cavity from moisture during the process of filling. A

roll of paper should be placed on each side of the
tooth, and on the paper the napkin, properly folded,
should be laid, and kept in place by the operator with
the left hand, or by the patient with the speculum.
The gum between the teeth is liable to secrete mucus
sufficient to moisten the work, or to be touched by

the instrument so as to bleed; to obviate these diffi-
culties, a wedge of wood, of the proper form, should
be driven firmly in between the teeth below the
cavity, so as to press the gum out of the way, and
thus provide against both contingencies. In addition
to these preparations, it will, in many cases, be ad-
vantageous to place some appliance between the jaws,
in order to keep them apart during the operation; in
the absence of anything better a cork may be used.
By this arrangement the mouth being propped open,

the soft parts are sustained more in repose, and less
saliva is eliminated from them to interfere with the
work.

With this preliminary the cavity is ready for the
filling, which is introduced, if in blocks, as before de-