Treatment and prevention of decay of the teeth : a practical and popular treatise

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Preface

THE author of the following work offers it as the result of a long and very careful study of the subject of which it treats; a subject relating to important interests of every individual.

What is known as " Decay' p of the teeth is very common at the present day throughout the civilized world. It is believed to be more prevalent in this country than elsewhere, although there are no trustworthy data, known to the writer, for such an impression. That it is becoming more common and more destructive, is also believed by those who are best qualified to form a correct opinion on the subject.

However this may be, there is no doubt that an immense amount of suffering, mutilation, and injury to the general health results from decay of the teeth. This fact, indeed, forces itself upon the attention of every one who observes what is passing around him, even if he has had the rare good fortune to escape trouble of this nature in his own individual case. It will not admit of question, when the universal prevalence of this disorder, and the painful character of some of its features are considered, that it leads to a greater amount of physical suffering than springs from any other source.

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That so much attention is given to the treatment of decay of the teeth and to the repair of the damage caused by it, is in itself sufficient evidence of the extent to which it prevails. It is estimated, no doubt correctly, that there are at least twelve thousand persons engaged in the practice of dentistry in the United States, and as many in Europe. The great object of dental surgery is, of course, the preservation of the natural teeth. Yet it cannot be denied by those who have given most attention to the matter, that it falls in this respect, when the general result is considered, far short of what it might reasonably be expected to accomplish. That this statement is true becomes apparent from several facts not generally known :

ist. In the United. States alone over three millions of artificial teeth are annually manufactured and sold to supply losses of the natural teeth destroyed by decay.

2d. In most of the larger cities there are establishments devoted, exclusively, to the painless extraction of teeth, the patient being previously rendered unconscious by the use of nitrous oxide gas. In one of these establishments alone, and that not in the largest of our cities, some ten thousand teeth, the writer has been informed, are extracted annually. It would certainly not be wide of the mark to say that more than a half million teeth are extracted, annually, at these establishments. This number, however, indicates but a small fraction of the teeth extracted every year in this country : it has been estimated at twenty millions.

It must be borne in mind that, in a great many cases in which the teeth have been, finally, destroyed by decay, attempts have been made to save them.

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The remedy relied upon for this purpose is what is known as "filling," or "plugging" the decayed cavities with gold. The extent to which this means of arresting decay is practiced may be surmised when the amount of material consumed is known. It is estimated that three tons of pure gold are annually consumed in this country alone in the manufacture of gold foil, and used exclusively for filling teeth ; this product selling for nearly 3,000,000 of dollars. But, beside gold, a variety of other inferior materials are employed, to a very great extent. A great deal has been done in the way of perfecting this operation; and the necessary instruments and appliances for the purpose have within the past twenty years been greatly improved. So successfully have thought, labor, and ingenuity been applied in this direction, in this country, that American dentists take the first rank in the world as " operators." Even in Paris, where it might be supposed such an art would exhibit its greatest development, American dentists hold the highest position in public estimation. "Dentiste Americain" appears, it is said, upon the professional signs of Frenchmen who have never been upon American soil.

But the wholesale losses of teeth, to which attention has just been called, and among the sufferers are people who are anxious, and who make every possible effort, to have them saved, indicate something wrong in relation to the matter. It is certain either that the means relied upon for the arrest of decay are insufficient for the purpose, or that they are imperfectly applied.

One of the inevitable consequences of this state of things is a lack of confidence on the part of the public viii PREFACE.

in the ability of dentists to preserve the natural teeth, and the questions are frequently asked :

Is dentistry, so far as it proposes to save the teeth from destruction by decay, a delusion or an imposture?

If it is efficient for this purpose, why do so many people lose their teeth, partially or entirely, after having intrusted themselves to the care of men of so much professional reputation with the public as to enable them to command confidence and to obtain large and lucrative practice ?

It is proposed to show in the following work, notwithstanding the frequent failure successfully to combat the ravages of decay, as indicated :

ist. That all the teeth of every individual, with rare exceptions, may be preserved.

2d. That decay of the teeth may be prevented from occurring at places where it is most destructive and requires the most difficult, painful, and expensive operations for its arrest.

3d. That all the attention necessary for the certain preservation of the teeth, provided it is given in time, is of simple character, and quite within the ability of any dentist of ordinary acquirements.

4th. That the pain usually attendi7ig dental operations may be entirely avoided.

5 th. That, as the operations required are of simple character, the cost of the preservation of the teeth will be diminished.

Disease of the general system is very often complicated and obscure. After careful study, the most intelligent physicians often find themselves greatly at fault with regard to the true nature of diseases they are called

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upon to treat. For this reason popular works on general medicine have met with the just condemnation of the medical profession, as calculated, in many instances, to mislead, and often to do serious injury. But decay of the teeth, from which so many serious evils result, is a very simple disorder ; its nature, and the efficient means of arresting it, may be readily and clearly understood. If a little thoughtful attention on the part of the public were given to this subject, an immense amount of imposition, suffering, and irreparable injury, upon which people are rushing blindly every day, and submitting to as inevitable, might be avoided.

The object of this work is to describe a new method of treating the teeth, in such plain language that it can readily be understood by any one who will take the trouble to read it with ordinary attention, and at the same time in such detail as to enable any dentist to practice the system explained if he should be disposed to do so. As few technical terms as possible have been employed, and it will be found that those used are necessary to a clear presentation of the subject treated.

The principal reasons which have induced the author to give it, to some extent, this popular character, are to show plainly to the public at large that there are other and more efficient means of relief from a common cause of suffering than those at present relied upon, and to place in the hands of such members of the dental profession as may be disposed to adopt the method explained, a means of combating prejudices which are strong and widely spread, and which they will be sure

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to encounter in their attempts to put it into practice. The author trusts and believes that the facts and arguments of the work will be found ample for the object in view. He has brought the system of treatment he now proposes to explain more fully than he has yet done, on every proper occasion, in a public manner, to the attention of the dental profession ; he has challenged controversy on the subject; " he has sought for objections and difficulties, instead of avoiding them, and has shut out no light which could be reflected upon it from any quarter." The subject has been more or less discussed during the past three years, and he has heard not one single objection to the general features of the system worthy of serious attention. He has a right, therefore, in view of the facts above stated, independently of the convictions resulting from a very extended experience in this direction, to confidence in the general correctness of the system proposed, however much, in its details, it may subsequently be modified and improved.

Baltimore, Md., September, 1871.

SOME OF THE MORE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES OF DECAY OF THE TEETH.

Exposure of "nerve" — Proper treatment of — Gum-boil —

Neuralgia 178-193