36 
PROFESSOR MOLLER’S TOOTH SHEARS. 
tongue away from the part to be operated on, the shears are adjusted on the 
tooth to be shortened, and the screw turned, while the instrument is held by 
one or two assistants. After a few turns, made as quickly as possible, the 
desired portion of the tooth will spring off with a loud noise. At this 
moment the horse usually makes a movement with its head, but, as the 
shears are already free, this is of no importance. Moller has cut many 
strong upper molars without ever having an accident. The tooth breaks 
smoothly off. In old horses, it may happen that the movement of the head 
loosens the tooth, and it comes away with the shears, affording, however, the 
desired relief. Most difficulty is met with in back molars, and where the 
Fig. 13.—Tooth shears. 
Fig. 14.—Tooth shears. 
sides of the teeth have been worn away obliquely. The gag must be wide 
enough to allow the open shears to be easily introduced. When the shears 
slide off the sides of the teeth, Moller’s tooth screw (fig. 15) may 
preferably be employed. In this instrument the power of the screw acts 
directly on the cutter. The upper arms are for holding the instrument 
in position. It is used in the same way as the shears, and will be found 
very useful. 
Metznik has invented a pair of shears in which the strength of the hands, 
acting through a series of levers, is found sufficient to cut teeth without 
having recourse to a screw (fig. 16). It is of service, but would be better if 
the limbs were narrower and more easily movable. Even when using inter¬ 
changeable jaws, it is occasionally found too narrow for broad teeth, and 
too broad for narrow ones. 
