Micro-organisms of the human mouth : the local and general diseases which are caused by them / by Willoughby D. Miller.
- Date:
- 1890
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Micro-organisms of the human mouth : the local and general diseases which are caused by them / by Willoughby D. Miller. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the University of Toronto, Harry A Abbott Dentistry Library, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harry A Abbott Dentistry Library, University of Toronto.
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![bacteria and their fermentative products exert a deleterious iniiu- ence even upon the normal mucous membrane and upon the entire organism bj impairing its condition, lowering the sensa- tion of taste, spoiling the appetite,—in other words, by producing a condition of the mouth which corresponds to that condition of the stomach denominated as disordered stomach? May not the coated tongue, the pappy taste, etc., which are concom- itants of the disordered stomach, be conditioned, independent]}^ of the stomach, by fermentative processes in the oral and pharyngeal cavities? Indeed, the spoiled mouth, as well as the spoiled stomach, deserves a place among the diseases of the digestive tract, and many complaints of loss of appetite and of bad smell, which are said to come from the stomach, no doubt have their origin in the neglected condition of the oral cavity. As early as 1756 PfaiF^*^ had recognized the importance of putrefactive processes in the mouth. It is necessary, he w^rites, to remove the tartaric matter, because it is a heavy body and daily accumulates mucus, wdiich alters the fine color of the teeth, gradually putrefies, attacks the gums, or even destroys their con- nection with the teeth. The teeth consequently become loose, a very disagreeable odor is emitted from the mouth, which is often falsely attributed to the innocent stomach. The investigations of von Kaczorowski ^^ have furnished a sati?;factory solution of the above question. He had long held the belief that the nature of most inflammatory processes of the gums consisted essentially in an infectious process brought about by micro-organisms, and was strengthened in this belief by the observation that a frequent disinfection of the inflamed gums or oral cavity of teething children removed in a remarkably short time not only the inflammation, but also the concomitant catarrh of the mucous membrane of the respiratory and digestive tracts, the feverish excitement, convulsions, conjunctivitis, eczema, etc. Xot in children alone, however, but also in patients of every age has this fact been repeatedly observed. Von Kaczorowski justly opposes the view that the tongue is an indicator of the condition of the stomach, and that the latter is always responsi- ble for the want of appetite. On the other hand, according to](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2120293x_0324.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
