Dentistry

“ Even in our days, notwithstanding the superabundance of duly qualified doctors, there is, especially in certain countries, no small number of quacks, secretists, bone-setters, chiropodists, and the like. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at that in times when dentistry was still in its infancy there should have been persons more or less ignorant who undertook tooth drawing and the concoction and sale of specifics against odontalgia. ”

“ THE CARE OF THE TEETH
It appears to be a fact that in the United States the profession of dentistry, both mechanical and medical, has been carried to its highest point. No doubt Americans will cheerfully assure themselves that American brains and “bustle” are responsible for this condition. But the truth can not be quite so comforting; the great development of dentistry in this country must be due to the demand for it ”

“ As with all other branches of hygiene, dentistry is now beginning to discover the ideal of prevention; recognizing that the sanitary care of the mouth is a more important object that the most cunning imitation of teeth, or the most ingenious masterpieces in bridge and crown work. ”

“ Operative Dentistry.—The art of dentistry is usually divided arbitrarily into operative dentistry, the purpose of which is to preserve as far as possible the teeth and associated tissues, and prosthetic dentistry, the purpose of which is to supply the loss of teeth by artificial substitutes. The filling of carious Filling or stopping.cavities was probably first performed with lead, suggested apparently by an operation recorded by Celsus (100 B.C.) , who recommended that frail or decayed teeth be stuffed with lead previous to extraction, in order that they might not break under the forceps. ”

“ Much more is known about the medieval anticipation of other specialities—those of the throat and nose, and eye and ear—and the surprise is with regard to dentistry, which is usually quite unknown. The fact, however, that dentistry developed so much more than is usually thought prepares the mind for the anticipations in other departments. ”

“ When properly made and applied to judiciously selected cases, the bridge denture is the most artistic and functionally perfect restoration of prosthetic dentistry.
The entire development of modern dentistry dates from the 19th century, and mainly from its latter half. Beginning with a few practitioners and no organized professional basis, educational system or literature, its practitioners are to be found in all civilized communities, those in Great Britain numbering about 5000 ”

“ Of late, however, as the physiology of the human system has become better understood, and the relations of the various parts and their mutual dependence become more clearly recognized, dentistry has made great progress as a science, and its practitioners claim, with much justice, to be classed among the learned professions. ”

“ In these days of advanced dentistry, the people of this country have been educated up to such an appreciation of their dental organs that, from the highest to the lowliest, we find the people habitually saving their teeth by having them filled. ”

“ A dentist, in one sense, is |170| a professional man, but, in another sense, his calling is mainly mechanical, and the tools which he employs are used in mechanical operations. Indeed, dentistry was formerly purely mechanical, and instruction in it scarcely went beyond manual dexterity in the use of tools; and a knowledge of the human system generally, and of the diseases which might affect the teeth and render an operation important, was by no means considered necessary. ”

“ I. All men's teeth are naturally in a state of total decay or caries, and, therefore, no man can bite until every one of them is extracted and a new set is inserted according to the principles of dentistry adopted by this Society.
I, for one, should want to discuss that before signing my name to it, and I should say this:—Why, no, that isn't true. There are a good many bad teeth, we all know, but a great many more good ones. You mustn't trust the dentists; they are all the time looking at the people who have bad teeth, and such as are suffering from toothache. ”

“ Although there have been, even from the most remote times, individuals who have dedicated themselves exclusively to the cure of dental maladies, or to repairing the losses of the dental system by artificial means, and notwithstanding the progress gradually accomplished in this branch of the medical art, which progress was especially remarkable during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it is not to be denied that, up to the beginning of the eighteenth century, dentistry was, in great part, considered one with medicine and surgery in general. ”

“ Let the dentist clean them and remove the tartar, if any, as commercial preparations often injure. Most dentists will save a tooth wherever possible. There is little excuse for bad teeth these days, since modern dentistry can work marvels. ”

“ It is also the cause of the perfection of dentistry in this country and in England, where the teeth are always more or less on exhibition. In other countries, where they are hidden behind the curtains of the lips, which are usually closed, except while speaking or laughing, this necessity does not arise to nearly the same extent. ”

“ The human family is subject to a variety of diseases in the teeth, which generally cause the final destruction or loss of these important instruments, unless judicious remedies are applied in proper season. These remedies are administered by the dentist.
2. There are few persons, in proportion to the great mass of the people, who seem to be aware of the utility of dentistry; for, taking the United States together, not more than one person in a hundred ever resorts to the professors of this art, with the view of obtaining a remedy for any dental disease with which he may be afflicted. ”

“ The development of the profession of dentistry has made possible the preservation of the teeth, even when naturally poor, as long as one has need of them. To preserve the teeth they must be kept clean. They should be washed at least once a day with a soft-bristled brush, and small particles of food, lodged between them, should be removed with a wooden pick. The biting of hard substances, such as nuts, should be avoided, on account of the danger of breaking the enamel, although the chewing of tough substances is considered beneficial. ”

“ In this town, those who intend to become dentists are now obliged to undergo an examination, but although the examiners be most learned and well versed in all the other parts of surgery, I think, if I may be allowed to express my opinion, that as they do not ordinarily themselves practise dental surgery, it would not be amiss on these occasions to admit an able and experienced dentist, who might sound the aspirant as to the difficulties which have come before him in the course of the long practice of his art, and who could communicate to them the means of surmounting them. ”

“ Every dentist who has ever given any thought to the development of his profession must have realized the growing necessity for an accessible and authoritative history of the dental art. The early efforts in this direction by Duval, Fitch, Carabelli, Snell, Linderer, Harris, and others, followed in this country by the more recent essays of Perine, Dexter, and Cigrand, are out of print and difficult to obtain. ”

“ It very often happens that the patient cannot indicate exactly which tooth it is that gives him pain, his sufferings being so acute as to appear spread over a great part of the jaw. One cannot, therefore, trust too much to the indications given by the patient as to the point of departure of the pain, and must take care not to extract a healthy instead of a diseased tooth. ”

“ If there had existed a true dental profession, there ought also to have existed a name for indicating the individuals who exercised it. Therefore, it must be considered highly probable that, although there undoubtedly existed individuals who were especially skilled in the cure of the diseases of the teeth, such persons did not form a special class; perhaps, among those to whom recourse was had for the cure of dental diseases, some were doctors, particularly skilled in such diseases, others were perhaps barbers,103 and so forth. ”

“ The doctors, on their part, under the pretext of being unwilling to have anything to do with these individuals, found it very convenient to dispense with the cure of dental diseases and with the extraction of teeth, this operation being sometimes too difficult for them, on account of their want of practice, besides being almost always very painful, and considered, even from the most ancient times, capable of eventually producing evil consequences, among which, in some cases, even the death of the patient. ”

“ The Geschichte der Zahnheilkunde, by Geist-Jacobi, and Notice sur l’Histoire de l’Art Dentaire, by Lemerle, have given to the practitioners of Germany and France valuable information which the English-speaking dentist has often sadly lacked. ”

“ The first beginnings of dental art were undoubtedly the same as those of general medicine, for it is evident that in primitive times, when the healing art was still in its rudimentary stage, no divisions could have existed in it. ”

“ Ali Abbas, another great Persian physician (who died in 994) , wrote a lengthy treatise on theoretic and practical medicine, one chapter of which is dedicated to the diseases of the teeth. When a molar tooth is affected by caries, and the pain cannot be subdued in any other way, Ali Abbas applies, inside the carious cavity, the end of a small metallic tube, into which he repeatedly introduces red-hot needles, leaving them123 in the tube until quite cooled. ”

“ To supply this want of instruction it would have been of great use if some able dentist, for example the late Monsieur Carmeline, who, in his day, practised with general applause, had made us acquainted with262 his mode of operating and with the knowledge acquired through the successful treatment of a great number of important cases. ”

“ Dental operations, according to Dionis, are of seven kinds:
1. The opening of the dental arches in the case of spasmodic constriction of the jaws. This operation, of the greatest importance for nourishing and keeping patients alive, is carried out by means of a lever and of a screw dilator.
2. The cleaning of the teeth. For this, as for the other operations, says Dionis, a certain amount of skill is required. The author advises the use of gold instruments if one be called upon to clean the teeth of persons of rank. ”

“ It is to be cured by the use of internal medicine, or by local remedies to be rubbed on the painful spot. Some of the medicaments registered in this paragraph have reference to the special case, in which the teeth are loosened through excess of coition. Among others there is a prescription for a dentifrice powder for strengthening the teeth, to be used every morning. ”

“ These little germs always get into places that are not kept clean, and when they get into the mouth they go to work, like so many little carpenters, with pick and drill, and pick away the [60] outer covering of the tooth and then the tooth decays, and this causes toothache.
We all want to have pretty white teeth like Ned's, do we not? When we are little we must take care of the teeth, and if they begin to decay we must have them filled or treated by the dentist. Let us look at our teeth and see who has the prettiest and the best ones. Has every one a toothbrush? We must each have one. ”

“ The front teeth are called incisors because they are used to cut the food. The back teeth are named molars because they are used in grinding the food.
Fig. 32 —Photograph of teeth not kept clean, showing how germs and a sour substance called acid eat holes in them and thus cause decay and toothache.
Toothache.—Toothache is a common ailment, and yet it can be entirely prevented. A tooth does not ache until it has a hole in it. The tender nerve within gives us warning that it is being hurt. The dentist can stop the ache and mend the tooth so that it will not ache again. ”

“ From the ages of six to fifteen years, the teeth of children should be examined, at least once in six months, by a dentist, who, if skilful, can seldom fail of rendering these ornaments of the human countenance regular, healthy, and beautiful. It is customary in England and France, for the proprietors of seminaries of learning to employ a dentist to visit their establishments regularly, for the purpose of performing such operations, and of administering such remedies, as their pupils may require. ”

“ There is infection; therefore, the first thing to do is to remove the pus.
Dental Treatment.—If there is a large cavity in the tooth, try to enter the root canals and remove the putrescent matter. If the face is badly swollen, make a digital examination, and over the root of the affected tooth you will find a spot about the center of the swelling where it seems to be spongy, appearing to hold the impress of the finger. Take a clean, sharp, cycle-shaped lancet, place on the spot, holding the patient’s head firm with your other arm for fear of his moving. ”

“ The patient still persists in sitting with his mouth stretched open to its widest limit, waiting for the operation to begin, and will only close the orifice when he is well shaken and shown the tooth. The dentist gives him some yellow liquid to hold in his mouth, which the man insists on swallowing, wets a handkerchief and washes his face, roughly rubbing his nose the wrong way, and lets him go. Every step of the process is eagerly watched by the delighted spectators. ”