HOBBIES IN DENTISTRY. 409 



over or produce pain ; whereas a slight blow from the fist will knock him 

 down and produce severe pain and congestion. 



It is a mistaken idea that gold foil cannot be welded and made suffi- 

 ciently solid without hammering. It is an established fact that an expert 

 hand-pressure filler will get more gold into a cavity, and do it quicker and 

 better — more evenly condensed, than is ever done by mallet. The most 

 accomplished demonstrators of operative dentistry recognize this as a busi- 

 ness fact, and do not consider a student competent to graduate unless he 

 can condense gold perfectly by means of the ''vibratory concussion" of 

 hand pressure. Many persons never can accomplish this peculiar grip of 

 hand; hence the indiscriminate and extensive adoption of the "sledge- 

 hammer." A good automatic plugger is indispensable as an assistant to 

 hand-filling, but it requires to be skillfully manipulated — and judiciously 

 let alone. 



All new inventions deserve fair trial, and genuine improvements adop- 

 tion ; but in matters as important as the j)reservation of one's teeth, skill 

 and science should be preferred to " main strength and awkwardness." 

 Electroplating or amalgam of gold (dodecahedrons) is. not impossible as 

 the acme of the great desideratum. 



Hobby '^0. 2 is the very prevalent jiractice of disfiguring teeth by sepa- 

 rating or cutting away for the purj)Ose of facilitating filling approximal 

 cavities. In a majoritj^ of cases it is not only useless but absolute mal- 

 practice. The supposition is that the Creator knew better than any dentist 

 the proper shape for human teeth. 



The fashion of extending gold fillings beyond the natural contour of 

 the tooth, showing an unnecessary amount of gold, displays a want of 

 taste and judgment on the operator's part, and a deficiency of refinement 

 on the part of the patient equivalent to the snobbery of wearing super- 

 fluous jewelry. 



"Rubber Dam" is a hobby that has carried numerous riders far be- 

 yond reason and common sense. The dam is a valuable acquisition, but it 

 is used entirely too much. Many use it desiring to have it inferred that 

 they are "up to latest improvements; " and where expert operators would 

 do better without it and avoid pain and annoyance to the patient. The 

 clamps and ligatures employed to hold the dam, and the force required to 

 get them into position, frequently produce peridontitis and permanent in- 

 jury to the teeth and gums. 



Some claim that moisture should be excluded from the cavity while ex- 

 cavating ; that the dentine absorbs saliva and renders it liable to decay after 

 being filled. This is an absurb idea ; the dentine is as thoroughly satur- 

 ated while the decay is in the cavity as it is possible to make it, and there 

 is no difficulty in making it perfectly dry when ready to fill. On the other 

 hand, the caries and albumen, when drilled or scraped, form a glutinous 

 paste which can only be removed by frequently syringing the cavity with 

 tepid water; in which case the dam is worse than a nuisance. It is a fal- 



