144 



ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 



cut the sharp elongation at the extremity of the first superior 

 molar. 



THE MOLAR CROWN CUTTER. 



The molar crown cutter or claw cutter, as it is occasion- 

 ally called, answers the same general description as the open 

 molar-cutter, with the exception that the cutting jaws drop 

 at a right angle from the head and curve toward each other 

 like a pair of claws. The jaws have a cutting edge of no less 

 than three-quarters of an inch, and part three-sixteenths of 

 an inch when the instrument is closed. They are used to 



Fig. 100. 

 Molar Crown Cutter. 



remove the crown opposing a decayed tooth, or that of a 

 decayed one when extraction is not deemed advisable. 



THE MOUTH SPECULUM. 



The mouth speculum is indispensable in a dental prac- 

 tice. It may consist of a simple oblong loop of one-quarter 

 inch iron bar, a wooden gag to insert between the molar 

 teeth, or a double bar that is made to open as wide as neces- 

 sary with a screw. These simple affairs may be made to 

 answer the purpose of the more costly and complicated 

 ratchet speculum, which has recently come into quite general 

 use. The ratchet speculum consists of two cups to fit the 

 incisor arcades, upper and lower, connected to the ratchet 

 mechanism by means of curved bars following the line of the 

 lips to a point behind the commissure of the mouth, thus 



