Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The works of John Hunter / edited by James F. Palmer. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
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![stance is contained in the body, it produces a destruction of the part between it and that part of the skin which is nearest it, and sel- dom of the other parts, excepting those between it and the surface of a cavity opening externally, and that by no means so frequently; and in those cases there is an absorption of the solids, or of the part destroyed, not a melting down or solution of them into pus. The teeth are to be looked upon as extraneous bodies with respect to the gum, and as such they irritate the inside of that part in the same manner as the pus of an abscess, an exfoliation of a bone, or any other extraneous body, and therefore produce the same symptoms, excepting only the formation of matter. If, therefore, these symptoms attend the cutting of the teeth, there can be no doubt of the propriety of opening the way for them ; nor is it ever, as far as I have observed, attended with any dangerous consequence8. Of the Formation and Progress of the Adult Teeth. Having now considered the first formation and the progress of the temporary teeth, we shall next describe the formation of those teeth which are to serve through life. In this inquiry, to avoid confusion, I shall confine the description to the teeth in the lower jaw, for the only difference between those in the two jaws is in the time of their appearance, and generally it is later in the upper jaw. Their formation and appearance proceed not regularly from the first incisor backwards to the dens sapientia?, but begin at two points on each side of both jaws, viz. at the first incisor and at the first molaris. The teeth between these two points make a quicker progress than those behind. The pulps of the first adult incisor and of the first adult molaris be- gin to appear in a foetus of seven or eight months; and five or six months after birth the ossification begins in them. Soon after birth the a [There can indeed be no doubt that the emancipation of the rising tooth is occa- sioned by absorption of the gum, but it is also probable that this absorption is increased, if not wholly produced, by the pressure of its edge on the horizontal surface of the tooth. It appears probable, therefore, that when, in consequence of the rapid elongation of the root, the crown of the tooth rises faster than this process for the removal of the con- taining parts goes on, an undue pressure takes place on the inside of the gum, and local inflammation, accompanied by much constitutional disturbance, is the result. The mere existence of the tooth in contact with the gum “as an extraneous body,” would not ac- count for all this disturbance, for after the gums are lanced the tooth is still in contact with the soft parts; but because the pressure is thus taken off, the irritation immediately subsides.] d 2](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21996623_0002_0053.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
