Notes on dental practice / by Henry C. Quinby.

  • Quinby, Henry C.
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Notes on dental practice / by Henry C. Quinby. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    facial pain. If the pain is caused by inflammation of the lining membrane of the socket, there will be little, if any, difficulty in the diagnosis. The tooth is sensitive to pressure in the early stages, and this steadily increases until abscess is developed, when, of course, there cannot be any doubt as to the source of pain. Thus, if there are several decayed teeth on the painful side, a few simple questions will be of great service in helping us to decide which one is the cause of pain. We must not trust too much to the patient when we have reason to suspect an inflamed nerve, for the sufferer is more likely to point out the wrong tooth than the right one. We must rather trust our own judgment in these cases, and, when we are satisfied as to the cause of pain, the treatment is easy. If there is inflammation and congestion of the socket, a free opening into the pulp cavity will almost invariably give instant relief. Syringing out the cavity with warm water, and, perhaps, if the tooth is not too sore, cutting away the decayed parts, so as to make the cavity self-cleansing, will be all that can be done in a case of this nature. In the majority of cases it is best to defer the cutting and shaping of the cavity until the sore- ness subsides, which, we may be quite sure, will quickly take place after the putrescent pulp has been removed by the syringing. When the pain is caused by an inflamed pulp, the course of treatment is different, and we cannot always expect such speedy relief from the suffering. Having satisfied ourselves that inflammation of
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