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310 PIVOT TEETH.

operation of removing a crown, a very fine, smooth,
narrow saw, set in a frame (Fig. 58), is, in some
respects, preferable to the forceps, it being less liable
to injure the root, than the latter. With this, the

Fig. 58.

crown is sawed off at the margin of the gum, leaving
the end of the root about the form required for the
reception of the artificial crown. In the process, the
crown being sustained by the fingers, the saw, kept

constantly wet, is applied to the tooth, and passed
along its proximal side to the margin of the gum,
and then along this through it, cutting it off at right
angles with its axis. After the crown has been thus
sawed off, the root is fitted, with a fine, round file,
for the artificial crown; and, ordinarily, it should be
dressed at right angles with its axis.
At this stage of the work, if the pulp remains
alive, it should be removed ; and the preferable
method is by direct operation, in the manner already

described (p. 263). It is better, in all such cases, to
avoid the use of arsenic for destruction of the pulp.
It will often be necessary to destroy the pulp before
the crown is removed. For a successful operation, it
is always preferable that the root have the pulp