Treatise on the natural history and diseases of the human teeth : explaining their structure, use, formation, growth, and diseases, in two parts / by John Hunter ; with notes by Thomas Bell.

  • John Hunter
Date:
1839
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Treatise on the natural history and diseases of the human teeth : explaining their structure, use, formation, growth, and diseases, in two parts / by John Hunter ; with notes by Thomas Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    disease is retarded; and this part appears at last only to lose its living principle, and not to take on the mortifying process above described; for which reason it remains simply a dead fang; how- ever, it does not remain perfectly at rest.* This is the stage in which it is called a stump. It begins now to lose its sensibility, and is seldom afterwards the cause of pain. Thus, in appearance, it will remain sometimes for many years, but there will be more or less of a change going on; Nature will be attempting to make up the deficiency by endeavouring to increase the stump; for in many cases we find the stumps thickened and lengthened at their terminations, or small ends; but it is a process she is not equal to, therefore no advantages accrue from it. When she either fails in this process, or is in such a state as not to attempt it, then by this condition of the tooth a stimulus is given to the alveolar processes which produces a filling up of the socket from the bottom, whereby the stumps are gradually protruded. But although they are pushed out at the bottom, they seldom or never project further beyond the gum than at first; and that part of the tooth which projects seems to decay in proportion to its projection. Be- sides this decay at the external end of the stump, there is an ab- sorption of the fang at the bottom, which is known by the following observation: the end of the stump, which was in the gum or jaw, becomes irregularly blunted, and often rough, and has not the ap- pearance of the end of the fang of a sound tooth. Such stumps are in general easily extracted, being attached often to little more than the gum, and that sometimes loosely. Although the disease appears to be chiefly in the tooth itself, and but little to depend on external causes, yet in many cases the part which is already rotten seems to have some influence upon that which remains; for if the rotten part be perfectly removed before it has arrived at the canal of the tooth, a stop is sometimes put to the further progress of the decay, at least for a time. However, this is not constantly so ; it is oftener the contrary; but it is expedient in most cases to make this trial, as it is always right to keep a tooth clean and free from specks. This decay of the teeth does not seem to be so entirely the effect of accident as might be imagined; for it sometimes takes place in them by pairs, in which case we may suppose it owing to an original cause coming into action at its stated time; the corresponding teeth being in pairs with respect to the disease, as well as to situa- tion, shape, &c. This opinion is somewhat strengthened by the fore teeth in the lower jaw not being so subject to decay as those in the upper, although equally liable to all accidents arising from external influ- ence which could produce the disease in general. The fore teeth in the lower jaw appear to be less subject to this * [The mortification and simple death of a part are exceedingly different things On this subject the reader is referred to the Treatise on Inflammation.] '
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