13- THE /"ARM DOCTOR. 



being filled with putrid elements and giving out a most offensive 

 and persistent odour. In some cases the tooth is broken in 

 pieces. In examining the mouth draw out the tongue and 

 tiirn it up between the jaws, or better, keep the jaws apart with 

 a balling iron. If the diseased tooth belongs to the upper jav/ 

 and is behind the first grinder, there may be a very foetid dis- 

 charge from the nose, which with its attendant nodular enlarge- 

 ment of the glands beneath the jaw have led to the destruction 

 of many such horses as glandered. 



Treatment. — When there is much inflammation of the gums 

 clear out the cavity of the tooth with the aid of a bent flattened 

 wire and a syringe with bent nozzle, feed soft bran mashes 

 only, and give a dose of laxative medicine (horse, aloes ; ox or 

 sheep, sulphate of magnesia ; dog and pig, jalap) ; lance the 

 gums and protect from cold for a few days. When inflamma- 

 tion is less severe, scrape from the diseased cavity all black, 

 softened or diseased tooth, and plug it with gutta-percha 

 softened by heat, moulded into the cavity and hardened by a 

 stream of cool water. If there is a tender spot from exposure 

 of the nerve this should first be deadened by caustic (crystal- 

 lized carbolic acid and powdered opium). Where the destruc- 

 tion is too great to allow of success by stuffing, the tooth must 

 be extracted, and the cavity syringed out after each meal, until 

 it heals up, and then filled with gutta-percha to prevent the 

 adjacent teeth deviating from their proper direction. If 

 very loose, the grinding teeth of large quadrupeds may be 

 extracted with large tooth forceps, but if at all firm an opening 

 must be made over the fang, and the tooth driven into the 

 mouth with a mallet and punch. This operation requires 

 accurate anatomical knowledge, especially in young animals. 

 In small animals the teeth may be removed by ordinary 

 dentist's forceps. After the removal of a tooth in herbivora 

 the opposing teeth on the other jaw must be occasionally cut 

 or rasped down to prevent injury from overgrowth. 



