R. C. MOORE. 
6l8 
In the summer of 1886 I was called on to treat a gray gelding 
six or seven years old, that was suffering with carries of the upper 
fourth molar. The tooth was nearly gone, and the maxillary 
sinus was completely filled with hay and other feed in a decaying 
condition, which had passed there through the open alveolar. 
I removed this as well as the remainder portions of the caried 
tooth, and found the caries had extended to the palatine piocess 
of the superior maxillary, eating a cresent shaped cavity opposite 
the alveolus as large as the half of a half-dollar. 
I cleaned out all the diseased bones and gave an unfavorable 
prognosis on the grounds that the caried palatine plats would 
not heal. Thus leaving a communication between the mouth 
and maxillary sinus, allowing the latter to fill with feed. 
The horse, however, done fairly well for some months. But 
during the following winter he lapsed into the same old or worse 
condition than before the operation. The cavity remained open 
and the sinus was full of food. Some of which would be dis¬ 
charged through the nose. I gave the case up as incurable. 
During the following winter the horse passed into the hands 
of traders and I soon lost track of him. Some time after this 
my attention was attracted to what Prof. Williams' says in his 
Principles and Practices of Veterinary Surgery in regard to some 
parties using guttapercha to fill the alveola after removing the 
tooth. 
I reasoned from this that it might be possible to close this 
cavity in this manner, and so decided to try it if ever an oppor¬ 
tunity presented itself. During the following summer a patron 
of mine traded for the same gray horse, and on examination I 
found him to be in about the same condition as the fall before. 
I procured some guttapercha and proceeded to operate as fol¬ 
lows : I opened the old trephine hole and cleaned the sinus by 
irrigation and scraped off all diseased bone. Then I took three 
sheets of the best pink guttapercha put up for dental use, and put 
it into a pail of hot water (nearly boiling). As soon as the 
guttapercha was soft, I took it in my hand and formed it into a 
ball or egg-shape, so I thought it would about fill the cavity. 
