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Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent etre filmte i des taux de reduction diffdrants. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film* cl partir da Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche i droits. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants iilustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 3f HINTS Y TO OUR PATRONS. PUBLISHED BY THE DENTAL ASSOCIATION, OF ONTARIO. HAMILTON: k,. LAWSON * CO., PRINTERS AND BOOKBIMDERS, NO. 3. KINO STRBST. 1868. HINTS TO OUR PATRONS. Read before the Dental Association of Ontario^ at Toronto, January 23rrf, 1868. BY C. S. CHITTENDEN, DSNTIST, HAMILTON, ONTARIO. THE DECIDUOUS OR TEMPORARY TEETH. In the first or deciduous set, there are twenty teeth, tea in each jaw, and are classified as follows, viz : four incisors or cutting teeth, two eye teeth, and four molars. There is no precise age at which they make their appearance, though there is a general law with regard to their eruption, which is as fixed as the laws concern- ing any other portion of the body ; so that, if there be no interruption, from any cause, the four central incis- ors will appear at from the fifth to the eighth month after birth ; the four lateral incisors from the seventh to the tenth ; the four anterior molars, (stomach teeth) from the twelfth to the sixteenth month ; the eye teeth (ouspiditi or canines) from the fourteenth to the twen- tieth, and the posterior molars from the twenty-fourth to the thirty-sixth. There have.becn numerous cases recorded of children having one or more teeth at birth, as well as of their eruption having been retarded to even as late a period is the tenth jear. Mons. Maurj relates the case of a girl at Bagnieres, in France, whose teeth all came in in their proper time except the central incisors in the lower jaw, which did not show themselves till after the ehild was seven years of age. Not long since a child thrceyearsof age, was brought to me for advice, in whose mouth there were no teeth but the posterior molars. Such cases are rare, and must be considered as freaks 4>fnature, till science-shall be far enough advanced to give us a better reason. The roots of the deciduous teeth are fully as long and large as those of the second or permanent set, in propor- to the size of the teeth. MORBID EPFEOTS OF DENTITION. The eruption of the teeth being one of the sponta- neousactsofnature, and according to certain Physio- logical laws, must not be considered as a disease — When naturally performed in a child, born of healthy parents, with a strong and vigorous constitution, and under the favorable circumstances of a generous' diet plenty of fresh air and exercise, the cuttingof the teeth seldom produces any unpleasant sensations whatever W at least none to attract particular attention. But, unfortunately, all children are not blest with such favorable conditions. « The truth seems to be," says Dr. Bond, *Hhat a great number of children are born into the world so feebly or disproportionably constitut- -^.^ ^„_-. „,-,.^ „^^ „^.„ ^^^^y^^ y^ inaiuriDg. Most of of children >s of their 3 a period e case of a came in, »rs in the I after the 3e a child, J, in whose molars. as freaks ^anced to long and 1 propov' ' sponta- Phjsio- sease. — health J -ion, and 3us diet he teeth liatever, But, th such >> -i sajs re born nstitut- lost of these necessarily perish during childhood, by fome of the many forms of disease common to that period. Ma- ny others, though born with sufficient vigor, are reduc- ed by bad diet ani! defective management to a condition which readily yields to irregular or morbid agents. Dentition demands a certain amount of constitutional energy to accomplisli it. The rapid development of any organ does this. This demand is the severest test of functional and organic completeness in the child, and many will not bear it. The development of the teeth determines an unusual flow of blood to the head. This happens at a time when the brain is proportion- ately large, and undergoing rapid evolution. Inde* pendently of dentition, this period of life is attended by strong tendency to cerebral affections, and to pulmona- ry and abdominal complication?. The nervous and vascular systems are, in a child of this age, remarkably active. The several organs have to perform not only their functions and the preservation of their cntirenes5 but also rapid growth. Animal life is therefore exalt- ed with all its qualities. Among these are sensibility and sympathy ; the capacity to be impressed and to propagate impressions. Hence, a slight cause may pro- duce great local or constitutional effects, and disease of any kind may induce sympathetic or constitutional dis^ order apparently much out of proportion to its intensi- ty or importance." Dr. C. A. Harris, in speaking of the effects of first dentitions, says : " During the period of teething, the child is restless and fretful, but its paroxysms of suffer- ing are periodical, and seldom last more than two W three hours at a time. The repose thus afforded eiw- Me» the sjitem to recover in some degree from the ex- _h.Mt.on oooaaioned by each preceeding paroxysm. If It were not for this, its excited energies would soon be _w«n. out, .nd the child fall a victim to the conUnned intensity of its sufferings. When the irritation is mere- ly ocal, it is usually of short duration, and consists in • slight tenderness and tumefaction of the gums, acoom- pamed by increased secretions of saliva. But when the krntotion ,s so severe as to affect the functional opera- toons of other parts of the sy.tem, febrile symptoms, of a general and more or less aggravated character, super- vene, attended with drowsiness, diarrhoea and not un- frequcntly, with various cutaneous erruptions on differ- «t parts of ihe body, called red gum ; at other times, of pustules, which are at first filled with a limpid fluid, t>ut, which, afterwards; become purulent. The former appear on the neck and face ; the latter are not confined to any particular part of the body, but, are either thin- ly scattered over its whole surface, or appear in small patches. There is also another kind of erruption which breaks out about the mouth, cheeks and forehead and sometimes extends to the scalp, which, in a short time dries up and becomes covered with disagreeable scabs. These soon drop off, to be succeeded by others: To these symptoms we may add cough, spasms of the muscles of the face, particularly those about the mouth and, when the diarrhoea is so copious as to occasion great emaciation, convulsions and death sometimes supervene Xhus far we have merely glanced at a few of the effects of first dentitions. To attempt a description of all, would involve the whole catalogue of diseases peculiar to iDfancy.'-' from the ex- roxjsm. If uld soon be 3 continued tion is mere- consists in iims, acoom- ut when the onal opera- mptoms, of icter, super- id not un- is on differ- ther times, t tnpid fluid, | rhe former ot confined lither thin- r in small erruption 1 forehead, in a short sagreeable by others i tns of the he mouth, sion great lupervene. the effects! )n of all, I I peculiar ^ Although the treatment of disease is not the prov- ince of the Dentif t, it may not bo improper to say that the lancing of the gums freely, will in most cases give instant and permanent relief. Cold or tepid baths, ac- cording to the strength of the child, are very soothing, and serve to allay the intense heat which usually attends difficult dentitions. The Family Physician should bo consulted as soon as any unpleasant symptoms manifest themselves, and thus save the child from days, or per- haps weeks of suffering. SHEDDING OF THE TEMPORARY TEETH. From the fact that in almost every instance these teeth have no roots when they fall out, or are extracted, some have supposed that they were only attached to the gums. Others have imagined that the roots were gradually worn away by the crowns of the second set, js they arose out of the jaw. Mens. Fouchard thought that some corrosive chemical fluid was supplied by na- ture, which ate away the roots ; while Mens. JourdaiD is of opinion that they are removed partly by some chem- ical fluid exuded at that particular time, and partly by being worn away by the permanent teeth, Others have thought that nature has supplied the blood-vessels snr- rounding these organs with sufficient absorbing power to enable them to carry away the roots of the tempora- ry teeth, little by little, and to deposit them in the roots of the permanent set. That the blood-vessels do cany away the substance of the roots, thfirps annAara ♦/» Ka rut question ; but it seems to be a matter of ereat doubt e whether these absorbent blood-vessels act dircetly on the root itself, or onlj earry it away after it ha, been dinntejrerated by some eheraical fluid exuded for that purpose. It will be suffieient for us, without goL •„ oanyspeeulationsin the matte, to know That'the roots of these organs are carried away by so>„e ageot, and that at about the seventh year they begin to ge loos^ m nearly the same order in which they came in, UBefuft'utf "r>?.f "'""^ '""'"=^""^ y-''"" these useful, but frail httle organs, having fulfllled the pur- POBC for which they were formed, have fallen out, and been replaced by their permanent successors, whicL be- .ng -^nded for hard service, and, as their 'name i'ndl cates, to remain for life, are much larger, stronger and «ore dense m their structure, than those which ^reoeed- Although, according to the ireneral law of nature, we fZT^ "ITf"' *''««« *««"" will all be removed by the end of the fourteenth year, such is not invariaMv the case Dame Nature sometimes plays off some of her freaks here as well as elsewhere, and we now and again, find one or more of these deciduous teeth re- ma.n.ng :n the mouth till lat, in life. Usually, when these remam, the permanent ones do not come b, but occasionally, both are found in the mouth at the same EXTRACTING THE TEMPORAY TEETH. Dr. John Taylor, than whom we can scarcely find a better authority, ,n speaking to the question : " When ana under what circumstances should teeth be extract ■i t directly od r it has been udcd for that bout going in- low that the 7 some agent, begin to get hej came in, 2ar, all these lied the pur- len out, and •s, which, be- r name indi- jtronger and lich preceed- )f nature, we removed by fc invariably off some of we now and 3 teeth re- ually, when me in, but, it the same rH. cely find a : " When I )e extract. ed to secure a regular and sjmmctrical denture?" says, " Dclabaire considers the eruption of the teeth as a natural parturient effort, and maintains that, as such, it should be left as much to the natural efforts of the economy as possible. I believe that parents, and often dentists, inflict more injury than benefit, by untimely interference. That there are numerous cases, however, which require aid at our hauJs, cannot be doubted ; and there is no subject in the whole range of dental practice, more difficult to definitely define, than this. The irregular manner in which the temporary teeth are shed and the permanent erupted, give continued cause for change in practice ; and yet there are certain rules that, perhaps, should never be departed from." The common opinion seems to be, that, as these teeth are to remain in the mouth but a few jear?, they may be removed at any time, without doing serious injury to the jaw itself, or the permanent ones. Scarcely a day passes that the dentist is not called on to extract one or more of these teeth, *' to make room for their successors." Nothing can be more fallacious. Dr. J. D. White says, " What business has a dentist to inter- fere with the half completed evolutions of nature in her most beautiful and complicated developments ? We can excuse bad work, where one is called upon to do the best he can, when his services are required, but we have no patience with intermeddling. There can be but two causes given in explanation — the one is want of moral responsihilUy^ and the. other ignorance'* Nature never works by halves, and when she plant- Arl iho flpp.itlnnns tfiftth in the iaws. she intended them — — — — J to remain there until the permanent ones should be 8 '^'ady to take their plaoei VVh„ «'raeted, at a coosiderabie time h?/'''.""' °^""*^« '^ sorbed, the jaw „i,,vu ;, "'^ ''^^"'^ '^ roots are ab- 'len.ition, shouVb^ L^: It f ^^"^^ ^^ ""'"« <:3 to enlarge at that poL h,T n =' "'" ""'^ <'«''^- traet, thus leaving too mi > "'^^"^ *° ''O"- permanent tooth/andi;:""" '" "^^ ''-'' ''''r the oHts natural position ThlV,?''?""""'' "'™'"' <"" from a popular writer'are ,o tS '"! ''''""'' '™''''=» Jorrible deformities we Lttefwl " ''''^ ">-' by prematur.e extraction of th. ^1 T '" """'^'^ laooouotforitinthrswifc TH k"°"' ''""'■ """^ soft tissues of the bod^ ;, ' T, "^' *= ''«" as the - and less porous':l^Ki: '^ ^'"•^ "'"' ^ ''- therefore, we elaim thaTwien a ^T^'"'^ '"''"^'- aoved before thepermanelt n *""^"""' "«"' '««• P'ace,na.uregoesr~ r/air';?^ ^''k'"''' "'' The alveolus loses its mechan,V,l >'arprocess. the alveolar cavity and th. ^P"" "^'^^ """^ '■■> Prerentscontractt The 1 *" "'""' ^^^^^e.that or time, move, upwards ord°'"."°°"'''""'eprop. K till it co«es in eont " tTl^T^'' "^ ""^ ""^^ »"J tte bone, when, lik a 2t ,. "''"°"' ""^ ^" '" ^'' '' -i» it. ; Js?cht:: :;i: j^:"^=^ '^--^ -pon »« laouth too loo. 1 U K "■' ^^ '° ''"'''"' « ones are forced eithe. to! f TT ""' P«^' -"«»» oa-iogasgreatirregula La th f''"1 "^ '""'-"''J. *"'> - a rule, it is betr t 1?"' 'T ""f f '"'"'°''«' eowse in the matter until tV " "''"''' "'^ to show itself. ' ' "■' P''°""'«'" tooth begins 'e of these is roots are ab- and durinsr ^ only ceas- ars to con- arcb for the thrown out sly remarks The most Jre caused teeth, and well as the nth a den- matter— 30th is re- take its by throw- r process. 3 tooth in rward, ictions; s own begins I 9 PRESERVATION OP THE TEMPORARY TEETH. In order that they may be preserved in a healthy Btate; it is requisite, in the first place, that the teethp should be made of good materials. Phoaphate of lime composes the greater part of their structure, and if the child be fed on food which contains too little of this« salt, it is pretty certain that the teeth will be defective- Analysis shows that nearly all the lime salts contained* in the different kinds of grain, are found in the outer shell, which, under the name of bran, is usually thrown^ away or fed to animals ; but the fine flour containa none, or almost none, at all. It can easily be shown^hat- the lime, which goes to form the teeth, is extracted from* the food, and carried to them by the blood-vessels; and as the bone-making material is nearly all found in the bran, it is evident that unbolted meal only should he used in preparing all the farinaceous food/or children. So long as they are fed on white bread, and pastry, made from fine flour, so long will one of the chief causes of bad teeth remain. The use of Phosphate of lime, pre- pared by the chemists, has done a great deal to over- come the mischief which has arisen from the too gene- ral practice of eating bread from which all the lime has- been taken. Too much honor cannot be given to those who first promulgated the idea of employing artificial- ly prepared Phosphate for this purpose ; but is it not much more in accordance with the natural economy, to draw the material for our bones and teeth from the food we eat, as it was designed, than from artificial sources ? In the next place, they must be kept clean. Nothing external to the system has a more deleterious iDnuence 10 , in each day, they should be thorou<.hIy bru^ho,! As children do not sufficiently appreciate tlfelfif to be derived from tl.;«, r.r.J P*"^*"'*'* '"« benefits it carefully. If tl br ihl ' ^.T'"'' '"'""''^ ^^« '» far betterlhat ute t , t^ ^ "LT- ' '''' "" all particles of ibod mnv L ? / '"°=' '° 'hat 'eeth, which, ira;l"e7t IrutdTc'^'""" "^ en does great mischief \Vh T , ^^''-'mpose, oft- ~d,='no timlfhruM bT oTt S' " "'"^"^ •'°'"- dentisf oa ; . ^*^^° consult n^ some fit and thctl" k"' "' '"^^ ""^y ^« ---d by that tbepu,;Lt mXtY rd^S ^° '^^ «g intense pains from it, Si and "''"■ ness ma, f,,,^,,, ,^ r;mo , .iTth^^^^^^ tiered useful ao-ain Krr ^ * > *»ua me tooth be ren- fully and pr Si^^^Stf' ''' """' ""' ""^ fectuUyst^Vthev r'"'"'*'* '""^'^ t**"" e^ -ffeHnJCtTaZtt:^^^^'^^-'~<>^ .. *^ ***• ''*'"'"^ «>e second molars of tJ.» -".^^ry set, at a considerable length of time befo« I 11 less. Once, ly brushed, be benefits uld see to a day, it is g, so that itween the ipose, oft- iially corn- ting some rresied by ts are ab- Jed so far ild suffer- 'pleasant- b be ren- nd care- 'etweeu the lecond and the conn- ed appear- en to some ix months, them care- FILLING TEETH. The decay in teeth can bo arrested and the teeth can be restored to usefulness. There is no longer any doubt about it. It has been done so often, and for such a length of time that the most ignorant are well assured of the fact. Aching teeth, and teeth with disease at the extremities of their roots, and oven where there are abcesscs discharging through the cheeks, can and are being saved every day. This is the most important operation the dentist is called on to parform. Not on- ly the life and health, but the fature usefulness of the teeth which are decayed depend on the sMll and care of the operator. The idea of arresting the decay of the teeth by filling, is not, as many suppose, one of recent date. A great many futile, and a few successful at- tempts to accomplish this object, were made two or three centuries ago. When we look at the means em- ployed for the purpose in the earlier days of tooth-fill- ing, we feel inclined to smile. So little was known about the teeth and their diseases, that those most skilled in the dental art, in those days, were able to do little more for their patients than to extract the teeth that were painful, to clean off the deposits of salivary calculus, lo jpen the abcesses which formed at the roots of ul- cerated teeth, and to apply astringent washes to the gums, with the hope that the contracting and pucker- ing of the outside would heal the diseases within. Here and there a dentist bolder than his fellows would at- tempt to stop the decay of the teeth, by filling them with some substance, usually a compound of wax and some 01 the resinous sums ; and it is said Ui tllLlb Ub one time a composition closely resembling the bone-fillin 14 of modern times, was used for this purpose. One mode of filling teeth, which proved of some value so far as the molars were concerned, was as follows : The cav- ity was cleaned out as well as it could be with a knife, when a musket shot as near the size of the cavity as possible, was selected and pressed into it. The jaws were then brought firmly together, and the shot forced into the cavity till the teeth met. If the shot filled the cavity perfectly, it would preserve the tooth till the lead wore out, which, from the soft nature of the metal, would soon be the case. At the present time this metal is never used. Its poisonous properties are such as to prevent its ever being employed, even if there were no other objection to it. Various materials for filling teeth came into u^e, as the knowledge that they could be preserved at all became general. Bits of bone and various kinds of stones were pulverized finely and mix- ed with melted sulphur. This compound will undoubt- edly preserve the teeth that are filled with it for a short time, but the constant contact, and disintegratinsr ac- tion of the saliva soon dissolves the sulphur, and allow the other substances composing the filling to fall out, and the decay to commence again. No doubt some temporary benefit was derived from some and perhaps all of these methods of filling, but no material was ever found that was permanently beneficial, and at the same time, perfectly innocuous, till the introduction of gold. It is now many years since gold was first employed for this purpose. It was in a very crude form when com- pared with the gold which is used now ; but, crude and uneven as its fibres were, there are many persons now living whose teeth have been saved for thirty and even forty years by it ; the teeth remaining as perfect in One mode so far as The cav- tli a knife, cavity as The jaws shot forced shot filled »oth till the ■ the metal, this metal such as to re were no for filling they could [ bone and f and mix- 11 undoubt- for a short ^ratine ac- and allow • fall out, )ubt some id perhaps I was ever b the same n of gold, ployed for 7 hen com- crude and .uKfiia lawTT and even perfeot ic 16 health and color as when they were filled. From the first it has been the study of both the dentist and the chemist to so prepare pure gold that it could be most easily introduced into the cavities in the teeth, and be most solidly condensed after its introduction ; for suc- cess depends entirely upon the solidity of the gold. It must be condensed so thoroughly withia the walls of the cavity, that no moisture can by any possibility pass through it, nor between it and the dentine, or the decay will proceed nearly as rapidly as if the tooth had not been filled. Within a few years it has been discovered that gold possesses the property of adhesiveness ; that one piece can be firmly welded on to another, and the process carried on indefinitely^ provided everything is ke^i perfectli/ dry. It is said necessity is the mother of invention. The necessity of restoring teeth that were partially broken down to their original form for purposes of mastication and articulation, has stirred up the inventive faculties of the chemist, till he has pro- duced such fine preparations of gold, that it seems as if perfection has nearly been reached. Now, the skill- ful dentist is able, by the adhesive properties of this metal, to restore many teeth that are one-fourth, or even one-half broken away, to their original form, and when neatly done the appearance of the teeth is but little impaired, whilst the usefulness, both for speaking and chewing is as great as ever. Pure tin, boaten into thin sheets, is the next best material for filling teeth. Unlike lead, it is not a poisonous metal, and it may be used with perfect safety in those teeth where the grind- ?-_ 3 i. :4. fv„f iMif u \a fnn soft to last long IDg UUUS UUl> VVyiii it Out, wi*v iv it-- -^ - — where it is put to much use in mastication. Unfortu- 16 nately it is liable to oxjdation, and consequently dis- coloration, by the fluids of the mouth, the discolora- tion frequently extending to the dentine, thus render- ing the teeth quite dark in appearance. For this rea- son it can only be used in the back teeth. Another material often employed is amalgam. It is easily in- troduced into the cavities in the teeth, as it is used in a plastic state, and becomes hard by standing. On ac- count of its being so easily manipulated, it is frequent- ly inserted in such a slovenly manner that the saliva easily finds its way between the walls of the cavity and the metil, and the decay commences again. Although it has preserved great numbers of teeth, when the op- eration has been carefully performed, still there can be no doubt that its use has been followed by an untold amount of mischief. Silver is one of its component parts, and it is a well known fact that the saliva osyd- ises it more rapidly than almost any other metal. It is combined with mercury, which, too, is very rapidly oxydized by the fluids of the mouth. It is also an ac- live poison. Many well authenticated cases of saliva- tion from the use of amalgam have been reported in the dental and medical journals. It may, perhaps, be judicious to use it in extreme cases, but in such only. There are numerous other compounds employed for filling teeth, such as Artificial Bone and the various pre- parations of Gutta Percha, which may do well enough for a short time, but they soon dissolve and leave the tooth in as bad a state as it was before it was filled at all, cousquently, they should only be used for tempera- ry fillings. There is an nld mmrim nmnnr^ /.»« i^««* dentists, that " a tooth that is worth filling at all, is worth being well done." It ought to be an axiom with 17 luently dis- e discolora- lus rcnder- or this rea- Anotber s easily in- is used in g. On ac- s frequent- the saliva cavity and Although m the op- ere can be an untold lomponent liva osyd- 3tal. It •y rapidly ilso an ac- of saliva- Dorted in rhaps, be ich only. loyed for rious pre- 11 enough eave the filled at tempora- It all, is iom with 'every Dentist and every patient, and, as gold is emphatically the material for preserving the teeth, it should almost invariably be cmoloycd. ^ Obiectiool'is sometimes made to the cost of having teeth filled w\th it, but if it be the best material for this purpose, as it most certainly is, it is the cheapest in the end. ARTIFICIAL TEETH Artificial sub.atutes for the natural teeth have been used to a greater or less extent, for a great length of time! T t is said that Hippocrates inserted teeth mount- ed on gold, more than two thousand years ago.— However that may be, we know that the practice has h^r-a quite common for more than a century. It is generally supposed that ivory was the first, and for many years the only substance employed for this pur- pose. It was carved into the form of teeth, with a hole passing literally through each tooth. Ligatures were passed through these holes and fastened to the natural teeth. The ligatures were sometimes made of thread, sometimes of silk, but more frequently of some metal. Of course the artificial denture could not be retained in the mouth by this kind of fastening, where there were no natural teeth remaining. In such cases it was customary, after obtaining a cast of the mouth, to take a piece of ivory large enough t. .over the whole of the palate and carve it away, till it fitted the mouth as well as it was possible to make it. But the possibility of carving anything to fit each individual mouth, was so perfectly impossible, that the wonder is that anyDoay was ever their mouth at all. in 18 The plate wa^s held iu its pbce by means of* metal springs passing from one jaw to the other. As the air could pass readily between the natural palate and the artificial one,the enunciation was materially affected. Added to these defects, ivory like all animal sub- stances, is subject to decay, and consequently, to an offensive smell. Then, too, it is porous in its nature, and readily absorbs the saliva and whatever is dissolved in the saliva ; the fermentation and decomposition of which, still adds to its disagreeable odor. Human teeth were also used, as artificial substances. These were retained, either by being pivoted to the roots of the natural teeth, or to plates found from some other equally objectionable animal substances. It was quite a common thing for Dentists to carve an artificial palate from the tusks of the Hippopotamus, and attach human teeth to it by means of pivots. Just fancy what the breath of a person using such a set of teeth must be! Ivory cceth, too, were frequently fastened in the same way. The tusk of the Hippopotamus, Calves' teeth, and the teeth of several other animals were often used for teeth in the place of ivory. But no matter which was used, no reliance could be placed on it. The best was only less offensive than the others. About the year 1788, Mons. Nicholas Dubois De Chemant, a Surgeon of Paris, conceived the idea of employing some mineral compound, for forming arti- ficial palates and teeth. He savs. after sneakinsr of those •/'i.e.) found from animal substance. " But, as teeth of this kind require to be renewed frequently, they occasion >^ vL* 19 very >-rcat «pcnso ; and even, uotwitl»tamUus theu- frequent renewal, they aUvay* nroduee a bad .'mcl I waa ioduced from th.t time to reflect on tl.o ro...b.l.ty and the moans of making tee.h and sets ot tooth o durable and incorruptible material.. I esamiuod almost aU the substances of the mineral kingdom, and at length, composed a paste, ^hich, when baked has every desir- able advantage." His invention was a- great stop m advance of any of his predecessors. In U S9, the .voyal Academy of Sciences examined sets of teeth mado of his composition, and issued a lengthy report in its avor. Commissioners were appointed by the Faculty ol I l.y«'0> ..to examine the new teeth and sots of tooth invented by M. Do Chemant, Surg, .n," who reported lu Josl flattering terms, as did, also, the l acuity of Medicine, in the University of I'aris. Many learned men, both in Kngland and France among whom was Doctor Jenncr, the discoverer of Vaccination, were so thoroughly convinced of the value of M De Chemant's invention that thoy gave him th<3 hi..hest testimonials in its praise. Notwilhstandmg all thts, the public whieh was to be most bencated by the new style of teeth, refused to use them, and still pro- ferred those made from ivory. In course of time some one discovered that thin plates of metal could be so stamped as to Qt the pa ate much more perfectly than the old blocks of ivory had done This was another great advance in the Dental Art A good number of the metals were tried from timo to time, but none was found to answer the purpose as ™»11 n, anld. and that has become almost the only one now in use, as the fluids of the mouth act but little upon it. 20 Even when human tcoth, or teeth m'»(lo from ivory wero used, they were iur less objoctionablo than when mounted on plates made from the Hippopotamus' task. The invention of mineral, incorruptible tcoth was too grand a discovery to be lost, even though the public did refuse to use those made by M. De Chemant. His teeth were, no doubt, so clumsy and ill formed that no one would now think of using them, still they were incorruptible and inoffensive as to smell, and it was only necessary to let this be well understood, and the teeth to be loetter formed, to bring them into more general use. It takes a long time to bring most inven- tions to perfection, and such has been the case with mineral teeth ; when compared with those made some twenty years ago, the teeth of to-day are vastly superior in every respect. Another forward step was made when it was discovered that mineral teeth could be mounted on metal plates. One would suppose that no person would for a moment wen - a set o^ artificial human teeth, when he tualJ get a set of incor- ruptible ones ; but, we do occasionally meet with one, which has been made in the Old Country, within the last few years. So far as is known, no teeth made of animal substances have been mounted on gold plates in this country within the last twenty-five or thirty years. Mineral teeth alone are used here, and so well skilled have the teeth manufacturers become, that thousands upon thousands of American teeth are sent to Europe every year. One of the leading manufacturers of ar- tificial teeth in Philadelphia, in giving some statistics in regard to them in 1853, wrote as follows : 21 ..Twenty y.»rs a,o, V^;I^Vl.^^:SZXi^ ,.„drcd u.a ^^%'^'!>:-t::^\Z2.U, less iu annually in Ao United S''''<^«- " ^ „„ii„„ally Europe. Since then, the demand ^ I on^^ _^ increasing, owing in a P''^['^l^'''l ,„a «,« „,ore Fovo-nts made -- y^^^^^^^^^^^^ perfectappUcabilily to thep P ^^^^ ^^ l^^^e ing beauty «°^ "''^'^^S At the present time, almost nothing more to^^^^'^:/; „f „i„eral teeth there are not less than '-o ""« ""'J^ „tich find „iade annually in this o"""' J' 7^,°, invention- there way back to the ."^^^'^j'tHviree hundred There is probably a ca2»WP-;trn Is alone, giving 't:r^: methods o.m^V^ needbcsaid,allofthemhavinsjre He ^^^^^.,^,_ rntli' JS iersb^v^been ^ust the oppos^ but not valuable, ^nu plates have proved i,, Teethmounto Jl^^^^^^^^^ l°^.prtiW as the construetion of a set of teeth teautiful. Simple as ^^^^^.^^ ^^^^^ ^^_ ^^ „a, seem to -J"^^^ .j^^^^y, and rcc,uires a really is «->« «'/; f. J^^ ,„a perseverance to accom- l,^e amount ot pa-.ence ^ ^^^ .^ .^ ^^^^^^^ pUsh it successfully, in tM n f ^^^^ \n' ^VtmeT::::: : Lttllgtt warm bees, substance. Some uenus „ .v;-™ but paster ^axforthis purpose; otber^ use n hingj J^^^^^^ of paris-. others gutta pevcna '^^^^ ^„,,, the substance may be, it must be pui 22 and pressed firmly against that part of which it is necessary to get the impression. At best it is a most unpleasant thing to have ones mouth nearly filled with wax or plaster, or whatever else is used, and few per- sons will bear it patiently. Now, very much, in fact, all, depends upon the impression being correct. The Dentiet knows well, that if his impression is a failure, his denture will be so too, and endeavors to induce his patients to be patient, and allow him to have full con- trol of the mouth, generally he succeeds, but sometimes he is obliged either to abandon the case, or construct his artificial denture on a model that he knows is not perfect. Of course " the teeth don't fit," as the saying is, and the Dentist is blamed for his want of skill, when he is only partially in fault. In the selection and arrangement of the teeth, the Dentist is supposed to be the best judge, certainly, he ought to be; but sometimes he is not allowed to exercise his judgement, for unfortunately, people have peculiar fancies in re- gard to the appearance of the teeth. Quite frequently, when a person has had large, dark coloured, ugly teeth, he will insist that his artificial set shall be very small, very white, and very regular in their arrangement. In fact, almost all, when having new sets made, wish to have them as regular as possible, and the Dentist is compelled to construct them in that way. It has been said that ''slight irregularity in arrang- ing, gives grace, ease and beauty to the denture, does away with hardness of outline, and produces an ex- pression more natural and lifelike than when situated in even, line-like procession." In the matter of the color of the teeth, the Dentist ought, from his know- /i ledge 23 and experience to be able to decide, but, usually character j/'^f ^f^^^^^aXaneed in life, usually be- The teeth ot P?'^^°°'*„t „. .„.i,er they assume a come somewhat discolored or r^**«';]"j ^ ^^^ but more opaque appearauoe than tt.y d W > j^^j the De'ntist Af^'Kattytut the whitest teeth many quite °W Pf P'^l, !f' ^J^e obiect of the Dent- will be best suited to them. ^."';° ^ ^^ ^ ^ imitate ist wheu he inserts =«' '^"^l '^^^^tle^^^ least to make the lost orgaos as nearly a possible, or at ^^^ such substitutes ^\'''"^"'"'l'!^f;„aer our notice, we the sets of natural teeth Aat come "°aer ^ shall find that no two "«Jf *.*'/ btyold any artifiei/l of them are very handi>ome, far ^ey""" > suhsututes that we can ^^V^^"'^^^; ?,°„„ly -Sith eraliy constitutes thorr be- J , « *e ^^ ^, J, f,,, which thoy agree with the otner i ^^^^^ Teeth, which would be l^'^^^some in one m be decidedly ugly in another. A. person 'f ^ round face, may have *»;' ^'.^J^y give abetter half way to the g«"rfn^ other shaded teeth would ; expression to the mouth than fher shapea ^ , another t^ Vt/th:undeT v ry' S Thes^ are upper row lapping the "™^T „ .^^ession to his face, just the teeth to give * Ple«a'ng ex^essiou ktween these two e^sj^^^^I^cTed'tha^ th ir r n:;^a?t::isr.carc.y 0^^^^^^^ two, and others with mouthsso large that w ^^ ly find teeth -de enough to flMhejpa^«- ^^^^^ have patients of all agesjcqair ^^^^ ^^^ of sixteen, others of sixty. IN^tur ^^^^^ effect of tinie and wear a much as any o ^^.^^^^^ organs of the body. This ,'«J1«„"^1„,^,, ,„a uai- whose teeth are foriucu mucu .uu'= .-a-»-> 24 formly than those of man. They are criteria by which we judge their age, and we can tell, after they have been extracted from the jaw, whether they belonged to the old or young animal." The Dentist, therefore, should so construct his artifical sets of teeth, that they will preserve, as far as possible, the natural expression of the countenance, but the peculiar ideas which many peopie have, often prevent his doing so, and the conse- quence is, that about nine person out of ten who wear artificial teeth, are really disfigured, instead of being improved. As artificial teeth have become common, it is no unusual thing for young people whose teeth have become somewhat effected by decay, to allow them, to be lost, without an effort to preserve them, as they say, for the purpose of " getting a pretty set of new oncf." — They seem to think that they can use their " new ones" for mastication as well as they ever could their natural ones, and to their shame be it said, many unscrupulous Dentists encourage them in this foolish idea. If a person have lost his natural teeth, an artificial set will be of untold benefit to him, so will an artificial leg to a man who has been so unfortunate as to loose his natural one. But who would for a moment think of haying a healthy leg taken off, and an artificial one substituted, simply because it was " bandy," or occa- sionally gave a rheumatic twinge; yet multitudes of people will have strong healthy teeth extracted and new ones inserted, simply because " they are crooked " or '' they are too dark coloured/' or too short, or too long, or too prominent, or too something else. The principal object for which the teeth were formed by the Creator, was the mastication of the food, and of course the more perfect the teeth, the more thoroughly will the food be prepared for the stomach, therefore, the person who for the sake of appearance has his natural teeth taken out, and others inserted, no matter how skilfully, is, to say the least, very foolish, and the Dentist who advises or encourages any one to do so is guilty of a great crime. >l C. S. CHITTENDEN, Iff 1ST OFFICE— King Street, directly opposite the the Bank of British North America. Entrance — The Staircase between the Drug Stores of Messrs. T. Bickle i|' Som^ and Messrs. Lyman Moore Sf Brierley. Hamilton, Nov , 18G8.