Page 237 - My FlipBook

CHAPTER VIII.

PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS.

Hitherto, in our consideration of the treatment of
caries, we have postponed the subject of the vitality
and pathology of the teeth altogether. It now re-
mains to describe the diseased conditions to which
the teeth are subject, and the treatment which those

respective conditions indicate. This is an important
department of the practice, since upon skill in this,
as well as upon the manner of performing the work,
the success of the operation depends.
Premising that our remarks on this branch of the
subject are predicated on the fact admitted, that the
teeth possess vitality, we proceed to consider the

pathological conditions to which, in common with all
vital tissues, they are liable. There is but one diseased
condition of living dentine, anterior to decay, that pre-
sents any considerable difficulty in the ordinary opera-
tion of filling teeth, and that is, inflammation, or exalted
sensibility. This condition was referred to in the
remarks on the treatment of caries, as being one that
most generally accompanies decay of the teeth.
Whether or not this affection is real inflammation, is