Page 40 - My FlipBook

36 INTRODUCTION.

long time—indeed, till they are worn down by the
friction in mastication.
This wasting process usually begins at the points

of the teeth, and proceeds toward the necks, on all
sides, till the enamel is entirely destroyed. Sometimes,
however, it commences on their labial surfaces; this
is particularly the case with the superior anterior,
but very seldom with the inferior teeth. The affection,
however, attacks the inferior more frequently than
the superior teeth; yet it is found assailing both with
about equal energy.
The cause of the disease is not well understood,

though it is generally conceded to be the operation
of an acid contained in the mucus. Doubtless, the
agent producing the affection is contained in the mucus;
for it usually occurs where there is a large relative
amount of this secretion ; but that it is an agent of a
very decided acid character, we are not prepared to
affirm. Decay of the teeth does not seem to progress
with greater rapidity while this affection exists, than
at other times; and again, the enamel does not present
the roughened, abraded appearance we find resulting
from the operation of any ordinary agent. With these
apparently incongruous facts, it is rather difficult to
arrive at a definite conclusion as to the precise manner
in which this condition is produced, or the exact

character of the agent instrumental in its production.