Page 340 - My FlipBook

336 EXTRACTION OF TEETH.

THE KEY.

The principle of this instrument was, at a very

early period, brought into requisition for the extrac-
it is, emphatically, an old instrument.
tion of teeth ;
It consists of a shaft six inches long, with a handle
four inches, attached at right angles, while the hook
is attached laterally at the other end of the shaft,
and the bolster, either movable or fixed, to the side
of it, immediately below the articulation of the hook.
This instrument has passed through a great variety of

forms and modifications ; having the shaft straight,
curved, or double-curved ; the fulcrum large, small,
flat, round, long, short, fixed, movable, and anterior,
posterior, or opposite to the point of the hook. There
has also been a great variety of forms of the hook
;
and it has been made with machinery attached, to
control its grasp, the object of which is, to prevent
the instrument from slipping off the tooth, and skill
in the use of which would doubtless add to the effi-
ciency of the instrument. The principle of the forceps,
too, has been combined with the key, and probably
with very decided advantage.
The modus operandi of the key is worthy of some

consideration. The hook is attached to the shaft
directly above the bolster, and starts off at right