The diseases of the human teeth : their natural history and structure : with the mode of applying artificial teeth, etc., etc. / by Joseph Fox and Chapin A. Harris ; with two hundred and fifty illustrations.

  • Fox, Joseph, 1776-1816.
Date:
1855
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The diseases of the human teeth : their natural history and structure : with the mode of applying artificial teeth, etc., etc. / by Joseph Fox and Chapin A. Harris ; with two hundred and fifty illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    the progress of this disease, is the removal of that which may appear to be the exciting cause. If this be tartar, it should be removed; and, if there be a tendency to an habitual deposit, the person should be careful, by frequent attention, to prevent its accumulation. In some cases, this disease is accompanied with inflammation extending along the fangs of the teeth, giving the sensation of ten- sion, and occasioning great uneasiness; this is relieved by scarifying the gums, a practice which should always be had recourse to, as the loss of blood, by abating the inflammation, relieves the pain, and checks the progress of the disease. Sometimes the absorption of the alveolar processes is attended with a considerable secretion of pus, which oozes out from under the gums, at the necks of the teeth. This discharge is not only very disagreeable, but often renders the patient very unhappy. Persons thus affect- ed, from observing, when they squeeze the gums with the finger, that matter passes out at the necks of the teeth, form an opinion, that it must produce injurious effects upon the sockets of the teeth, as well as render the breath offensive; on these accounts, they frequently squeeze the edges of the gums, and wipe the teeth, in order to remove what they consider to be so offensive and injurious. This practice, however, cannot be too strongly reprobated, as it tends to promote the very ef- fects they so much fear. By frequently squeezing the gums, a constant irritation is kept up on the secreting surface, by which the discharge is not only rendered more copious, but also more acrid. In these cases, nothing more should be done than to use a soft tooth-brush, night and morning, and cleanse the mouth by rinsing it with some lotion, such as a decoc- tion of Peruvian bark, the infusion of roses with tincture