DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
677 
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This is not remarkable, as only a few years ago human dentistry 
was performed by the watchmaker, locksmith and the barber. 
The human surgeon of the seventies usually referred his patients 
suffering from an aching tooth to these mechanics, without even 
a thought that within one short generation the art of dentistry 
would develop into such an enviable and useful special profes¬ 
sion. We do not predict that domestic animal dentistry will 
proportionately develop to the point of becoming a special pro¬ 
fession, but we do predict that our clientele will eventually, if 
they do not already, recognize that dental operations even of the 
simplest kind demand the keen judgment and skill of the trained 
veterinarian. Dentistry is the art of mechanically repairing or 
improving the mechanism of mastication, especially the teeth. 
Human dentistry owes its existence to a bio-chemic disease{o.ax\z.$l), 
from which few mature individuals escape. The human den¬ 
tist is thus engaged chiefly in combating and repairing the re¬ 
sults of the diseased process, by cleansing and filling cavities 
with metallic substances and by supplying artificial organs 
when the natural ones are diseased beyond repair. It may be 
truthfully said that among the civilized races all mature sub¬ 
jects suffer more or less from this disease, which in the early 
history of dentistry was treated by ablation of the offending or¬ 
gan, but which, it has subsequently been shown, can be treated 
in such a manner as to make it serve its useful purpose indefi¬ 
nitely. In the domesticated mammals this same disease does 
not exist to any appreciable extent, if at all, but these animals, 
especially herbivora, suffer from a physical defect (lateral enamel 
projections) of equal frequency. No student of zoology will 
doubt that the domesticated herbivorous mammal suffers from 
frightful physical deformities which are eminently inimical to 
their general health and usefulness. The veterinarian is thus 
chiefly engaged in correcting these deformities by cutting and 
floating precisely and to the same extent as the human is en¬ 
gaged in filling the cavities of caries dentium or replacing the 
organ entirely. The other physical defects and diseases of teeth 
besides the caries of human teeth and the lateral projections oj 
herbivorous teeth , though often of eminent importance, demand 
a very small share of the dentist’s attention, because they are 
relatively rare. The porcine, ovine and even bovine species do 
not require the same regular attention as the domestic horse, on 
account of different occupation and their short life. It is only 
here and there that these genera are permitted to live beyond 
the period of maturity, except for breeding purposes, in which 
