92 VE TERINARY DEN TAL SURGE R Y. 



harmless to the molar teeth. It may be that the 

 tongue and natural flow of saliva (owing to gravita- 

 tion), over the lower incisor is sufficient to dilute the 

 acid contained in the buccal secretion to such an ex- 

 tent as to render it inactive. The theory of imper- 

 fect organization, I am inclined to believe is the true 

 cause of this affection. There is yet room for a 

 more thorough investigation of this subject, though 

 the number of cases coming under the notice of the 

 veterinarian are very limited. 



TREATMENT. 



The only treatment which has thus far proved 

 satisfactory is the thorough removal of all diseased 

 tissue, and then filling the cavity. An amalgam 

 composed of tin, silver and mercury answers all pur- 

 poses. This effectually retards the progress of the 

 disease for a time. In some cases all future difficulty 

 is avoided in this manner. For instruction for filling 

 teeth see Chapter XXI. 



While preparing this chapter the following case 

 was reported to me by A. C. Runyan, D. D. S., of 

 Bangor, Michigan. The reported case is as follows: 

 "I think the horse was about five years old, do not 

 know what gender, owned by one of our liverymen 

 here. It would not eat its food properly and in con- 

 sequence was in very poor condition. As nearly as I 

 can remember only the superior incisors were affect- 

 ed. The two centrals were the worst and appar- 



