Page 277 - My FlipBook

EXPOSED PULPS. 273

entirely. After the desired result with arsenic has
been obtained, it has been thought that antidotes to
arrest its further operation might be made available.
The hydrated sesquioxyd of iron is one of the best
antidotes to arsenic, and has been used in the teeth
to counteract its injurious effects; but it is of no avail
here; the arsenic has the start of it, and, indeed,
would outstrip it, with an equal start.

From the foregoing in regard to arsenic as an ap-
plication for destroying the pulps of teeth, the fol-
lowing conclusions are justly deducible : it is, in gene-
ral, very efficient; it is a heroic agent*; it should in
all cases, be used with great caution; in some cases
it is entirely inadmissible; a free administration of it
is liable to be followed by bad consequences; and
skill and care, rather than counteracting agents^ are
to be relied upon in its application.
Filling Pulp-cavities and Canals.—After the pulp
of a tooth has been destroyed, whether by an opera-
tion or by therapeutic treatment, the part at the point

of its detachment should, in all cases, before the fill-
ing is introduced, be rendered healthy; if possible, a
permanent cicatrice should be formed. In cases.
however, of good constitution and strong recuperative
power, where a pulp has been removed by an opera-
tion, the root may be filled as soon as the hemorrhage
has ceased; but such cases rarely occur. Generally.