A system of dental surgery / by the late Sir John Tomes.

  • John Tomes
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A system of dental surgery / by the late Sir John Tomes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    dentition.—In the earlier pages it was stated that the alveolar processes are formed after the dental papillae are developed, and that at the time of birth they have risen up to the level of the developing teeth. Within two or three months they arch over and nearly enclose the teeth, thereby evincing a more rapid rate of growth than the teeth themselves. When the teeth are ready for eruption, the anterior wall of each alveolus is absorbed to the extent of about half its whole depth. The teeth emerge, and the alveolar processes again commence to grow, but not, as in the former cases, more rapidly than the teeth ; they now keep pace with the teeth. At the time the development of the several teeth is commenced the papillte are placed at their ultimate depth in the jaws. They do not grow into, but up from, the maxillse, and the alveoli grow with them. At the period of eruption the lower end of the truncated and unfinished root reaches to the bottom of the socket, the position of which as regards depth is not changed with the gradual lengthening of the root of the tooth. After emergence the depth of the alveolus is equal to the length of the root of the enclosed tooth, the subsequent growth of the root at its base being equalled by the development of the alveolus at its free edge. When the permanent teeth are ready to emerge, the process of absorption is again called into requisition, and the labial wall of each alveolus is, in the anterior part of the jaws, removed, the loss of bone being extended to a point corre- sponding to the neck of the emerging tooth. This condition is shown in Figs. 19 and 22 ; but the accompanying illustrations exhibit in a remarkable manner the dependency of alveolar on dental development. The dentition is in many respects irregular; but the point to which I would draw attention is the extremely broken line described by the alveolar margin both in the upper and lower jaws. It may be seen that the terminal edge of each socket corresponds with the neck of the contained tooth, however irregularly the latter may be placed with respect to its fellows—exception, of course, being made to those teeth which have not yet passed through the gum. On the right side of the lower jaw the first temporary molar is retained, and on the left the second temporary molar is present. In each case the tooth and its alveolus are raised to a higher
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