148 ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 



inferior, posterior, anterior, right or left work to the advan- 

 tage of tlie dental surgeon. 



At the present time there is no standard dental instru- 

 ment. Each manufacturer and each practitioner has his 

 particular idea as to what constitutes the appropriate style 

 of instrument for each particular purpose, and as a result 

 an unfortunate state of chaos exists in the veterinary dental 

 instrument shop. This unfortunate condition makes the 

 veterinary dental instrument costly, as the manufacturer 

 cannot reduce the cost by making them in large quantities. 



A change for the better in this connection will come when 

 the dental operations are regarded as being of sufficient im- 

 ]K:)rtance to warrant the adoption of standard methods of 

 operating, which in turn will create a demand for standard 

 instruments. 



Trephines, chisels, punches, curettes, and the dissecting 

 instruments used in animal dentistry are too well known to 

 demand description here. 



RESTRAINT. 



Floating, filing and trimming the teeth of horses can be 

 accomplished without provoking resistance — enough to de- 

 mand any forcible means of restraint. The minor dental 

 operations are accepted with remarkable complacency in 

 the great majority of horses. The only necessary restraint 

 is to prevent the horse from backing away from the operator 

 and from elevating the muzzle out of the reach of the hands 

 and instruments. This is done by backing the horse into a 

 single stall and securing the head at a comfortable height 

 on the pillar reins with the dental halter. The ordinary 

 leather halter is not satisfactory for this purpose because 

 one side or the other will press against the cheek and pre- 

 vent the free passage of instruments along the teeth. 



The dental halter consists of a leather-covered iron loop 



