Notes on materia medica : pharmacology and therapeutics for dental students and practitioners / by Douglas Gabell and Harold Austen.

Gabell, Douglas (Douglas Phillimore)

Date:: 1909

Credit: Notes on materia medica : pharmacology and therapeutics for dental students and practitioners / by Douglas Gabell and Harold Austen. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$aspects of the teeth can only he reached with a more or less vertical movement, the occlusal surfaces with a horizontal motion. A tooth-pick is a very useful and, in some cases where the interdental spaces are irregular, necessary means for cleansing between the teeth. It should be small, pliable, pointed at one end and rounded and flatter at the other, made of quill or very thin celluloid. ]\Ietal tooth-picks are to be avoided, because they are too thick to penetrate, too stifi to fit, and arc sharp and hard enough to damage teeth and fillings. They are also too expensive to throw away after using. Silk is a very effectual means of cleansing between the teeth, but few patients will take the trouble which its use involves. Dipping the silk in a strong and lasting disin- fectant, such as 1 to 100 HgCl„, will help to prevent fermentation. A cane cut to a flattened point at one end and frayed out to form a brush at the other is, if diligently used, a very good all-round instrument for cleansing the teeth. Tooth-Powders. Tooth-powders are not desirable if the mouth is clean to begin with and carefully brushed twice a day. They are also at times harmful by causing abrasion of the teeth, and by packing in between the teeth they irritate the gum, help to form tartar, and a nidus for fermentation. Yet as human effort is not always perfect, it is often advisable to increase the scouting action of the brush by using some powder on it. Chalk is usually sufficiently detergent. Puinice, powdered shell, or palpable grit, are not permissible$