ART. IX-POPULAR DENTAL KNOWLEDGE.

FROM all accounts, in ancient Egypt dentistry seems to have originated as a separate branch of the healing art; and as in all old countries the profession or calling of the father generally descended to the son, there is no reason why this branch should not in time have made great progress under those to whose care it was committed, or at least that part appertaining to tooth extraction. And from the fact that among Egyptian remains there have been found forceps made of copper in the offices of those who followed the occupation of barbers, it may be inferred that to those persons, as for centuries after in various countries, the operations on the teeth were intrusted.

From the writings extant of the early physicians, and authors of works on anatomy and physiology, it would appear that their knowledge of the structure and diseases of the dental organs was extremely limited and erroneous; and as all knowledge was more or less under the jurisdiction of the seers, prophets, and priests, who controlled both the social and religious opinions of those days, we can readily account for such an idea as was advanced by Arætacus, that the cause of toothache was only known to God. Five hundred years before Christ Herodotus, the traveler and historian, informs us that the Egyptian physicians divided the healing art into different parts, one taking that of the head, another the eyes, another the teeth, etc. The mode of extracting practiced and recommended by some of the earlier practitioners was, to shake the teeth well, and then remove them. Others advised the application of the hot iron, or boiling oil, to make them exfoliate; but it is unnecessary here to enumerate the absurd practices recommended. And although, during the lives of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Thucydides, Eristratus, Celsus, Pliny, Galen, and others, the healing art may be said to have made great advances, the state of dental surgery remained nearly the same. Little or no change, in fact, took place for the better until about the time of the great anatomist John Hunter, of England, who published his work on the teeth in 1778. He has since been followed by numerous other authors and practitioners, both European and American, who by their labors and researches, combined with anatomical and physiological erudition and mechanical skill, have elevated dental surgery to a high position among the arts and sciences of the present day. The last half cen

tury has witnessed the operations on the mouth that were formerly left to the care and tender mercies of the ignorant knight of the razor and shears, assumed as a calling by men of education and refinement; and the world at large acknowledges its indebtedness to the dental surgeon for that comfort and happiness that can only be derived from a healthy condition of this part of the animal economy, without which the "Hell of all diseases" would reign supreme, for who that has suffered from the pains of an aching tooth and its direful concomitants would say that it was the least of the "ills that flesh was heir to ?"

The student and practitioner of this branch of the healing art now takes his position beside the student and practitioner of medicine. Dental surgery has now its colleges and its quarterly and monthly periodicals, presided over and edited by men who, by their learning and skill, take the highest rank among the profession of their choice; and the degree of D.D.S., Doctor of Dental Surgery, as truly indicates having passed through a regular course of scientific preparation as the degrees of A.M. or M.D. in other professions. Twenty five to thirty years only have passed since the vail of secresy has been removed from dental operations. Previous to that time the dentist hid his operations from his brother practitioner. His female patients, with faces concealed and hesitating steps, groped their way with secrecy to his door, not desiring to have it known that they needed or were obliged to wear artificial teeth. But a few years have passed since a few dentists only were to be found in any of our large cities; now our city dentists are numbered by hundreds, while every village or country town has one or more as a permanent fixture. Eighteen years ago the first dental college established in the world had its origin in the city of Baltimore; since which time there have been three others, one in Philadelphia, one in Cincinnati, and one in Western New-York. These institutions have professors of dental surgery, dental medicine, anatomy and physiology, dental mechanics, dental practice, chemistry, and metallurgy; also lectures on microscopic, and comparative anatomy of the teeth.

So much for the origin and progress of dentistry. We will now attempt to place before our readers the practical part in such a manner that we hope may enable every individual not only to keep in good preservation their own dental organs, but those of other persons intrusted to their care. Every one should be familiar with the fact, that the decay of the teeth always commences externally, or in other words, decay always shows itself upon the enamel, or bony structure of the teeth, and never internally, as was at one time supposed to be the case. It may be said to be in most cases the result of chemical

action, produced by the decomposition of particles of food that collect or lodge in the interstices or depressions of the teeth, while eating These fissures are caused by the imperfect uniting of the edges of the enamel while the tooth is being formed; any individual can readily detect them on examination. Every one will, therefore, readily see how necessary it is to prevent all particles of food or foreign matter from remaining a sufficient time to produce decomposition. Numerous experiments have been instituted for the purpose of ascertaining the length of time necessary for various kinds of food to so decompose as to produce injury. All food in a state of decomposition generates an acid. From experiments by Professor Amos Wescott, it was found that acetic and citric acids so corroded the enamel in forty-eight hours that it could be readily removed with the finger nail. Acetic acid, or common vinegar, is one of our principal condiments, and he says is "formed in the mouth whenever substances liable to fermentation are suffered to remain for any considerable length of time."

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Citric acid, or lemon juice, of which many, especially young females, are so fond, readily acts upon the lime of which the teeth are composed, when brought into contact with them. Malic acid, or the acid of apples, in its concentrated state, also acts promptly; also muriatic, sulphuric, and nitric acids, although greatly diluted. And here let us caution all persons against using any preparation to whiten the teeth; for as the teeth are mostly composed of phosphate and carbonate of lime, anything that produces this effect acts on their material, and will ultimately seriously injure or destroy them. Keep the teeth clean, and they are as white as nature intended. Professor Wescott also found that "raisins so corroded the enamel in forty-eight hours that its surface presented the appearance and consistency of chalk." The condition of the saliva is also, at times, very acidulous. In view of what we have above stated, it will be seen how careful every one should be, for self or for children, thoroughly to cleanse the teeth from all substances that come in contact with them.

Preparations for cleansing and purifying the mouth should be free from all acids, and contain, as one of the principal ingredients, an alkali, (such as enters into saponaceous substances,) to neutralize the acid, and destroy the animal and vegetable parasites that are secreted by the fluids of the mouth. It has been found by microscopical examination, that the secretions of almost every person's mouth contain more or less of vegetable and animal life that will withstand the application of acids and astringents, and will only succumb to alkalies, which not only appear fatal, but a preventive

to their formation. The mouths of persons who have been in the habit of using soap freely as a dentifrice are completely free from these productions. Every preparation, then, should contain this substance. But a soap alone is not sufficient properly to cleanse the mouth and keep it in a healthy condition. Some substance should be combined with it that shall produce a gentle friction, sufficient to create a healthy circulation of blood in the gums, and remove from the surface of the enamel any extraneous accumulation that would otherwise disfigure it. Prepared chalk and a little orris-root to flavor, with pure castile soap, make a simple and at the same time effective dentifrice, all-sufficient to answer the purpose for which tooth-powder should be used. By no means use powdered charcoal as a dentifrice. This substance is the same that is used to polish the surface of iron and steel; it is insoluble, and so acrid in its nature that, no matter how fine you may reduce it, its little black grains will not only insinuate themselves between the neck of the tooth and the gum, causing an irritation of the parts which, in the end, may destroy the investing membrane of the tooth, but it scratches the surface of the enamel. Not long since we had to remove the four upper incisors of a young lady who had been in the habit of using charcoal as a dentifrice, because their surfaces were seamed over with minute black lines that could not be erased, and the teeth loosened, and the gums abraded and irritated from its constant use. It would be well for every one, before using a toothpowder, to see if it will scratch glass, moistened and rubbed over its surface. If so, it will produce the same effect upon the glossy, glasslike surface with which God has covered the teeth. The use of tooth-powder is to keep the teeth clean, and not to change their natural color. If the teeth are of a dark or yellow hue, they never can be made white, except at the expense of the material of which they are composed; any powder, then, that whitens such teeth is only acting chemically, and therefore injuriously, upon their

structure.

We have remarked that any one, on examination, could detect the fissures or depressions in the enamel. When these fissures present a dark appearance, which the brush or toothpick cannot remove, you may rest assured that decay in its first stages has commenced, and no time should be lost in consulting a competent dentist, who will, by thoroughly eradicating it, and filling the tooth with some suitable material, preserve it. No matter how small the cavity, or how little the decay, it should receive immediate attention. The smaller the cavity the better, if it can be filled. Have your family dentist as you have your family physician, and consult him two

or three times a year. His province is to prevent as well as to arrest disease. When you have actually experienced pain from a tooth it can never be preserved with the same certainty as if it had given no trouble. Many there are who, perfectly conscious that their teeth are decaying, neglect proper attention to them, simply because they have experienced no pain. If a tooth has actually ached the dentist can do but one of two things: either extract it, or destroy the nerve, if it has one, and fill it. In the first operation a tooth is lost that can never be restored; and the second increases the danger of losing the tooth by inflammation. Toothache does not always originate, as many suppose, from an exposed nerve. In fact, a majority of the teeth that are extracted because they are painful have no nerve, it having long since died. Inflammation is, in such cases, the cause of the trouble, having attacked the living membrane of the tooth and socket. A toothache from an exposed nerve, on the other hand, is a quick lancinating pain, or in common parlance a "jumping toothache," and is usually caused by the contact of some substance with the exposed nerve. Inhaling cold air or hot or cold drinks will also produce it. This toothache immediately subsides when the cause or tooth is removed. On the other hand, a toothache from the other cause, inflammation, is a steady aggravating pain, overspreading the affected side of the face, sometimes even the neck and shoulders. If allowed to proceed, The gum swelling, finally breaks, and discharges pus. If the tooth is removed while in this state the pain still continues, even abscess or "gum-boil" is produced, and suppuration of the parts. more severe than before, and some time elapses before it entirely ceases. As there is no nerve to kill in a case of this kind, the tooth should be removed upon the first symptoms of trouble. This species of toothache is usually caused by taking cold; yet there are other minor causes, the most prominent of which is tartar, a calcareous deposit supposed to be from the saliva. In its soft state this is of a creamy consistency and color, accumulating around the necks of the teeth where they enter the gums, and if allowed to remain any length of time it becomes hard and dark colored, and almost imperceptibly pushes away the gum from the tooth, and by insinuating itself between it and the tooth, deprives it of its support, and allowing irritating substances to come in contact with the investing membranes produces a looseness of the tooth and inflammation, with its accompanying results. This substance also causes a bad breath, and by eating away the gums from the teeth, causes them to present, oftentimes, an unsightly appearance. All these effects can be guarded against by a thorough use of the brush and powder.