DISEASES OF THE TEETH AND MOUTH. 267 



the premature decay of the teeth. The foul gases which it 

 gives off, when there is fermentation of the food, exert a very 

 detrimental effect upon the teeth. Similar consequences fol- 

 low the reprehensible practice of giving the horse strong- 

 mineral poisons, such as copperas, blue stone, calomel, corro- 

 sive sublimate, arsenic, and many others. These have a ten- 

 dency to destroy the enamel, and corrode and ruin the teeth. 



TREATMENT. 



We know of nothing to be done in the case of a decayed 

 tooth except to extract it. This should be done, if at all 

 practicable. Have made a pair of pullers on the principle of 

 the keyed instrument used in dentistry, but larger and 

 stronger, of course; and while an assistant holds open the 

 horse's mouth, the operator can fasten on the decayed tooth 

 and draw it. If the horse is vicious or restless, it will be 

 necessary to fasten his head, so that he can not move it about. 

 The operator may stand on a bench or box, so as to work to 

 better advantage. 



The horse's teeth* should not be extracted except in ex- 

 treme cases, when the fact admits of no doubt that they are 

 the occasion of acute suffering. The practice of driving out 

 the teeth with a punch or hammer ought not to be counte- 

 nanced, and is only justifiable in those rare instances where a 

 proper instrument can not be procured. 



As one of the causes of decay, the condition of the stom- 

 ach should receive careful attention. A hot, fetid breath, 

 the tongue of a whitish-purple colpr, the saliva of the mouth 

 thick and stringy — these are the indications of derangement 

 of the digestive functions. The proper remedies now will be 

 sulphur and " jimson" seed. Of the former, give four ounces 

 every other day; of the latter, one ounce every third day. 

 Four doses of each, at the intervals here prescribed, will be 

 sufficient. Pulverized yellow poplar bark, or green limbs 

 from the tree, may be used for the same purpose, and in the 

 same manner as will shortly be directed for scurvy of the 

 teeth. 



