Dental caries; and, The prevention of dental caries.

  • Sewill, Henry
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Dental caries; and, The prevention of dental caries. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    inflammation of enamel and inflammation of dentine ; of retrograde metamorphosis of the dental tissues, and of the influence of ‘ vital force ’ and of * diminished vitality ’ of the hard dental tissues as predisposing causes of caries. Anyone acquainted with the meaning of these terms must feel disposed to pass by such utterances with the ridicule which their gross and palpable absurdity richly deserves. But, astonishing as it may seem, some of these views have been accepted and repeatedly expressed by a metropolitan teacher of dental surgery, and the hypothesis of retrograde metamorphosis has been seriously adopted. It seems, there- fore, worth while to attempt an elaborate refutation of these fanciful views, if only for the sake of the student, who, at least, seems in danger of being confused by such teachings, put forth with what to him must appear authority. It is, indeed, for the student that I mainly compose these papers. It is not likely there can be any considerable number of duly educated scientific men who will support fantastic theories, solely based upon vague impressions and incom- patible with physiological fact. Writers who, without first overthrowing established fundamental truths and forming a new basis for their hypotheses, construct elaborate theories, or put forth dogmatic statements, irreconcilable with those truths, seems to me beyond the reach of argument. Their style of reasoning reminds one of the mental attitude of certain individuals described by George Eliot. She speaks of some people who may with difficulty be made to agree that, as a rule, two sides of a triangle are together greater than the third side, but will qualify the reluctant ad- mission by the reservation that one must, however, be careful, for there is such a thing as carrying mathematical reasoning too far. A man who can speak of inflammation of enamel and dentine, or of retrograde metamorphosis of