Dental surgery and pathology / by J. F. Colyer.

Frank Colyer

Date:: 1919

Credit: Dental surgery and pathology / by J. F. Colyer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

26/1124 page 4

$is bulging over a coming tooth, is a curious reflex PESOMOERE effect of dentition. Treatment.—The treatment of these conditions lies within the province of the general practitioner, but the dental surgeon may be consulted with a view to lancing the gums. This operation, if considered necessary, should be performed as follows: ‘ A curved bistoury should be used, and, in’order to prevent injury to sur- rounding parts, a strip of lint should be wrapped round the knife so that only half an inch is exposed. The technique of the operation is quite simple. The child should be placed on a pillow on the lap of the nurse, who should be seated on a chair opposite the operator, and with her back towards the source of light which should come preferably from a north window. ‘The operator should seat him- self facing the nurse, with the end of the pillow supporting the child’s head in his lap. He thus commands the territory of opera- tion, and, by holding the child’s head, can guard against any sudden movement. The hands and the body of the child must be firmly held by the assistant. The lancet is then passed through the overlying tissue until it is felt to come into contact with the enamel surface, and the tissue divided sufficiently to allow. the tooth to erupt without resistance’ (Kirk). The child’s bladder should be emptied before the commencement of the operation. The best method is to make two semi-lunar incisions which meet at their extremities, and remove the intervening portion of gum with a pair of tenaculum forceps. Objection has been raised to the use of the lancet while the tooth is still considerably below the surface, on the ground that cicatricial tissue offers greater resistance to the progress of the tooth than fibrous tissue ; but as cicatricial tissue is of a lower degree of organisation than normal fibrous tissue and therefore more easily disintegrated by pressure, this objection is not tenable. (2) Locat. Simple Stomatitis—The stomatitis is usually confined to the neighbourhood of the erupting tooth, and is characterised by intense redness and swelling, the mouth at the same time being hot. the child fractious, restless, and in evident pain. The tem- . perature may reach 104° or 105° F. ; but it should be remembered that pyrexia in children readily supervenes upon slight causes. Ulcerative Stomatitis.—In these cases the gums become hot, swollen, and painful, and these symptoms are especially marked$

Dental surgery and pathology / by J. F. Colyer.

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