pressing it upward, he breaks off a portion of the concretion; which
proves to be what is ordinarily called lime-salts, or tartar. That is
the cause of the purple ring on the gum, which is merely the outward
manifestation of the disease. Take it off thoroughly, polish the surface
of the tooth, and in three days' time the gum will show a perfectly
healthy color. The condition described is the first stage of the
disease, and the treatment given is all that is required for a cure of
the case at this time. But take the same man and let him go for ten
years without the simple operation detailed. The disease spreads,
and causes inflammation of the process, and, finally, its
absorption--sometimes on the labial surface for one half or two-thirds
the length of the tooth. It runs its course, the tartar accumulating,
all the time following up the line of attack. At the end of ten years
what has become of the line of tartar? Sometimes it will be found
extending clear around the tooth. Sometimes it will not be found at all;
it has done its work--the tooth is loose, but the concretion is gone, in
whole or in part. In this case the patient wants the tooth out, but,
he asks, what has become of the tartar? The answer is that the natural
acids found in the oral cavity have dissolved it, and it has passed into
the stomach or out of the mouth in the saliva. But the tooth is so loose
that it is a torment to the man; it lies in its socket, entirely loose,
almost ready to drop over. It hurts so that he cannot bear the pain. The
tooth is taken out. There is no tartar on it, or very little; there is
a little speck near the point that looks like a foreign body; but the
point of the tooth--the apex--is as sharp as a needle. After the
disease has done its work of separating the tooth from its socket, the
destroying agent begins to absorb the tooth at the point, irregularly,
causing the sharpness described. Now, because no tartar is found upon
the tooth, does that argue that it has never been there? Not at all;
the loosened tooth shows simply that it has been there and has been