356 OPERATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



trolled by pressure and packing with oakum or compressed 

 sponges. Fractures of the alveola, or of the lower maxUlary 

 bone, are of a more serious character than any of the preceding 

 iujuries, the last, mentioned in a case recorded by Koerter, having 

 necessitated the destruction of the animal. 



Filing Teeth. 

 This operation has not, we believe, as yet entered into the 

 general practice of veterinary surgery, and, with the exception of a 

 few veterinarians on this continent who have attempted it, we think 

 that ia the presence of the many difficulties which exist ia realiz- 

 ing a perfect result, similar to those obtained with the thorough 

 work of human dentistry, it will be some time before this branch 

 of veterinary dentistry can be practiced with any great prospect of 

 good and permanent resiilts. Our experience in filing the teeth 

 of our domestic animals is very limited, and on that account we 

 will refrain from saying more about it, referring our readers to 

 the work of Dr. Hinebauch on "Veterinary Dental Surgery," 

 where the subject is treated rather extensively. 



Canine Dentistry. 



Operations on the teeth of the dog are sometimes iadicated 

 under some peculiar and abnormal conditions, such as irregu- 

 larity in number or in direction, or in cases of traumatism, such 

 as fractures or dislocations. Their extraction is performed with 

 tooth forceps, as we have already had occasion to remark. Their 

 resection has been recommended by a French veterinarian, Mr. 

 Bourrel, as a means of preventing rabid inoculation (Fig. 359). 

 The operation is a very simple one, and consists in smoothing 

 over the sharp points of the teeth vrith a file, though sometimes 

 sharp nippers are used in preference. 



But an operation which is of daily necessity is that of clean- 

 ing the teeth by removal of the accumulation of cement or tartar, 

 which gathers on the external surface of the tooth, at its insertion 

 in the alveolar cavity, where it forms a thick crust, of greenish 

 gray color, composed of microscopic fungi. In neglected cases, 

 the gums become irritated and ulcerated, and the tooth, partially 

 denuded of its gum, exposes not only its free portion, but por- 

 tions of the root also, sometimes even becoming loose and drop- 

 ping out of the jaw. There is in these cases a free and abundant 



