Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The works of John Hunter. 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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![difficulty of keeping on the dressings ; but constant attention will make up for the inconvenience of situation. If the surface of the abscess be touched with the potassa fusa, and the lip kept from coming in contact with the part for one minute, it answers better than any other method; for this, within that space of time, will penetrate to the bottom. The surface of the boil should be first wiped dry, as much as the na- ture of the part will allow, to prevent as much as possible the spreading of the caustic, which by care can be prevented, as the operator will watch it the whole time. To extract the tooth, then to file off any diseased part of it, and im- mediately to replace it, has been practised, but often without the de- sired success; for it has often happened that a tooth has been intro- duced into a diseased jaw. This practice, however, now and then has succeeded. When a gum-boil is formed on a back or molar tooth, such very nice treatment is not necessary as when it happens to the fore teeth, because appearances are there of less consequence; therefore the gum may be slit down upon the fang through its whole length, from the opening of the gum-boil to its edge, which will prevent any future union; and the whole cavity of the abscess skinning over will prevent any future collection of matter. The wound appears afterwards like the hare lip, and therefore this practice is not advisable where it would be much in view, as when the disease is in the fore teeth. In these cases, where the granulations push out through the small opening, they may be cured by the method above mentioned ; but if it is not complied with, they may be very safely cut off with a knife or lancet. However, this does not effect a cure, for they commonly rise again. To slit the gum in this case has been common, but it is a bad method whenever the defect is in sight3. §.5. Excrescences from the Gum. From bad teeth there are also sometimes excrescences arising at once out of the gum, near, or in contact with, the diseased tooth. In general they are easily extracted with a knife or whatever cutting instrument can be best applied; but this will vary, according to their situations and the extent of their base. a [The practical surgeon who has seen much of the diseases of the teeth will see that the long detail of the treatment of gum-boil, or, as it may with more propriety be termed, alveolar abscess, is altogether supererogatory. The roots occasioning these gum-boils must be removed, or every other means will fail.]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21996635_0002_0095.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
