A system of dental surgery / by Sir John Tomes.

  • John Tomes
Date:
1887
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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

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    as seen in diseased limbs ; but in such cases the eularge- meut of the cavity is produced by progressive absorption of its parietcs, and the enlargement of the outer dimensions by development of bone upon the surface. The conditions of tlie alveoli coincident with the progres- sive development of the teeth, do not appear to have attracted that amount of attention which the subject deserves; and the stage in which tlie wall or walls of the sockets are partially absorbed preparatory to the passage of the teeth through the gums, although an important and necessary action for the liberation of the crown of the tooth fronr the socket, seems, so far as I know, to have escaped observation altogether. If the teeth of the specimen which has been under con- sideration be removed from their sockets and examined separately, it will be scon that the crowns of the central incisors are perfected so far as their exteriors are concerned, and that the production of the necks of the teeth has com- menced. The enamel of these teeth presents the character which marks the completion of its development—namely, the smooth and polished siu-face which succeeds to the dull, opaque, and almost chalk-like character maintained so long as the tissue is incomplete. The lateral incisors present similar appearances, excepting that the neck is less pronounced than in the central teeth. The canines at [iresent are placed deep in the sockets, the crowns being incomplete, contrasting strongly with the teeth immediately behind them. These, the first temporary molars, have the crowns nearly completed, the masticatory surfaces being on a level with the alveolar margin. The latter parts have already been sliglitly reduced by absorption, and the outer apertures of the sockets have been thereby enlarged. The second temporary and the first permanent molars, although considerably advanced as compared with those of the six-months' subject, are still considerably below the level of the alveolar margins, the outer of which is turned very much inwards, and hence the openings of the sockets
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