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REVIEW OF DENTISTRY. 355

SIAM.

(KINGDOM.)
Area, 250,000 square miles. Population, 6,000,000.
Capital, Bangkok; population, 600,000.
Geo. B. McFarland, M. D., D. D. S. f of Bangkok, has most
kindly contributed the following interesting sketch relating to
our profession in Siam:
"In Siam the practice of Scientific Dentistry, by fully qualified
men, for any length of time, has been entirely unknown. A few
wandering practitioners wishing for a vacation and knowing that
there was no dentist here, have, at various times, visited Bangkok
and made a stay of some months. The work was done almost
entirely among the Europeans, as the natives did not appreciate
what it was to have the members of their oral cavity repaired and
put in good condition. After doing what work came to them, and
after having seen the sights of the place, these practitioners went
away, amply repaid for their time and trouble, judging from the
rates of fees charged. These were simply exorbitant. Euro-
peans suffering from want of attention were willing to pay any
price to have the ravage of decay arrested, before it should go too
far. Such prices ranged from five to eight dollars for simple
extraction. No gold fillings, not even the smallest, for less than
fifteen dollars, and anything in the way of artificial dentures was
not thought of, on account of the great expense.
"Before entering farther into the consideration of dentistry in
Siam, I will answer briefly the questions asked in your letter. As to
the number of dentists in Bangkok, there is, besides myself, a Hong-
kong Chinaman, who (judging from his work) is a hundred years
behind the times in supplying artificial dentures. I once had a
patient who desired me to make for him a superior central
incisor, to take the place of one this Chinese dentist had made
for him. The tooth proved to be a piece of ivory carved to the
proper shape and size, with a hole drilled transversely at the
upper end, through which a copper wire had been passed and
wound around the adjoining teeth on either side, holding it rather
loosely in place. The man had worn this tooth, with considera-
ble pain at first, for almost a year. During that time — partly the
result of the disgusting habit of chewing betel—the adjoining
teeth had become quite loose and painful. I dismissed him with
instructions to take proper care of these teeth first, and to return