The manner of holding forceps is shown in [figs. 8], [ 9], [ 10]. The handles should rest comfortably in the palmar surface of the hand, and in such a manner that the end of one handle rests between the thenar and hypothenar eminences—a portion of the hand where force can be applied with advantage.
The thumb placed between the handles acts as a regulator to control the amount of pressure of the blades upon the tooth. As a precaution it is well to have the ball of the thumb well between the handles, so that the pressure is counteracted not only by the soft tissues, but also by the terminal bony phalanx of the thumb. If this precaution be not observed, any sudden crushing of the tooth may be accompanied by a severe and very painful contusion of the operator’s thumb.
Fig. 8.
Mode of holding forceps for the removal of upper teeth.
The Elevator consists of two parts—the handle and the blade. The former, usually made of wood or ivory, is about four inches in length and of a shape suitable to allow a firm grip being obtained of it by the hand. The blade is made of fine steel, and is about two inches long. Elevators are of two varieties, straight and curved. In the first form the blade is thin, about one-fifth of an inch in breadth, one surface being made convex and the other flat. The point of the blade may be rounded as shown in [fig. 11], or spear-shaped, as shown in [fig. 12].
Fig. 9.