Page 214 - My FlipBook

210 CLASSIFICATION OF DECAYED CAVITIES.

filling will thus exhibit a single, uniform surface, at a
considerable angle with the axis of the tooth. When
a portion of the crown breaks down in consequence
of proximal decay, it is toward the center of the tooth;
usually the inner and outer corners remain. If these
projections are feeble and liable to be broken away,
they should be cut down, and the cavity filled as
before described. If, however, they are firm, they
should remain, and the cavity,* properly formed, may

be filled so as to restore the tooth's original form,
which in the molars and bicuspids should be accom-
plished as nearly as possible, in order that the func-
tion of mastication should be perfectly preserved. By
properly directed effort the crowns of the teeth can
in almost all cases be well restored. Non-adhesive
foil is not adaptable to this kind of filling, as it cannot
be built in so as to withstand the pressure of masti-
cation. In no case should a proximal filling be left

in contact with the adjoining tooth.
Fourth Class.—Proximal cavities of the incisors
and cuspidati. If the teeth are not in a crowded
condition, and the file is not required by the extent
of the decay, separation may be made by pressure;
but if the cavity is large, and the walls are thin and
friable, cut with a thin chisel and file, only till a good
border is obtained about the cavity. Much has been
said as to the form of these separations, some recom-