676 ARSENICAL ANTIDOTES. 



finish what the teeth and mastication should have performed. The stom- 

 ach may not be considered " disordered," but it is made torpid by unmasti- 

 cated food being forced into it thereby causing "fermentation" instead of 

 allowing natural digestion. ( Dr. Abernathy said that "nine tenths of the 

 ills of humanity arise from stuffing and fretting ") 



> The acidulated gas produced by the process of fermentation, rises from 

 the stomach to the mouth ; and having an affinity for the saliva and parti- 

 cles of food, a deposit of tartar is the inevitable result. Tartar does not 

 decay the teeth, but inflames, devitalijses and destroys the gums and mem- 

 branes of the sockets, and thereby loosens the teeth. Once started, it accu- 

 mulates rapidly, and many persons are ignorant of its presence until great 

 injury is done to the teeth, and surrounding parts. The worst thing to do, 

 however, is to conclude that teeth thus affected, are not worth saving, 

 Eeconstructed natural teeth are greatly superior to the best of artificial 

 dentures. 



Persons who have lived to the age of maturity in the East, ask " why 

 does tartar accumulate more rapidly in the West?" (A noticeable fact.) 

 Without having made a careful chemical analysis, I have no hesitation in 

 declaring it to be attributable to the superabundance of alkali in the west- 

 ern water. This alkali has a powerful affinity for the acids and gases of 

 the mouth and stomach ; and by immediate contact they immediately 

 neutralize each other and form a sediment that unites with the mucus and 

 foreign substances, and produce the concretion. 



No chemical preparation will remove tartar without first destroying the 

 teeth. The only successful remedy, is the scaler in the hands of operators 

 who are willing to devote skill and patience to an apparently trifling opera- 

 tion. The most practical preventative, is a reliable dissolvent wash and 

 daily use of good brushes. 



ir. B. — Never use dentifrices containing soap, charcoal, orris root, alkali, 

 acid or froth. 



Arsenical Antidotes. — From some late experiments Eouyer has found 

 that although the freshly precipitated sesquihydrate of iron is an antidote 

 for arsenious acid, it has no effect in counteracting the action of sodic ar- 

 seniate or potassic arsenite (Fowler's solution), but that a mixture of a 

 solution of the sesquichloride of iron and the oxide of magnesium will 

 counteract the effect of these salts as well as the arsenious acid itself, and 

 hence this mixture is always preferable to the hydrate in cases of arsenic 

 poisoning. The officinal solution of the sesquichloride of iron should be 

 first administered, and fifteen minutes afterward the magnesia oxide, given 

 in the proportion of four grammes of the latter to one hundred cub. cent, of 

 the former. In one hour after the administration of the antidote a cathartic 

 should be given. The ingestion of acid drinks and lemonade should be 

 avoided during the entire treatment, since the compounds formed by the 

 union are soluble in acids. — Rep. de Pharm. 



