"Forty-three years ago, for a young lady fourteen years of age, I filled with non-cohesive gold all the teeth worth filling with this metal; the rest I filled with tin. Three years after that there was not a perfect gold filling among the whole number, and yet the tin fillings were just as good as when made. The explanation as to why the tin fillings lasted so much longer than the gold ones was, that there must have been something in the tin that had an affinity for the teeth and the elements that formed the dentin, by which some compound was formed, or else it must have been in the adaptation." (Dr. H. Gerhart, Dental Cosmos, January, 1897.)
CHAPTER IV.
At the World's Columbian Dental Congress, held in Chicago, August, 1893, the author presented an essay on "Tin Foil for Filling Teeth."
During the discussion of the subject, the following opinions were elicited:
Dr. E. T. Darby: "I have always said that tin was one of the best filling-materials we have, and believe more teeth could be saved with it than with gold. I have restored a whole crown with tin, in order to show its cohesive properties; the essayist has paid a very high and worthy tribute to tin."
Dr. R. R. Freeman: "I have used tin foil for twenty-five years, and know that it has therapeutic properties, and is one of the best filling-materials, not excepting gold."
Madam Tiburtius-Hirschfield: "I heartily indorse the use of tin, and have tested its cohesive properties by building up crowns."
Dr. A. H. Brockway: "I am a strong believer in the use of tin, on account of its adaptability, and the facility with which saving fillings can be made with it."