The agitation of this subject, by the medical profession, is a step forward. Hitherto medical men have not given the matter the attention its importance demanded.
And now that this new light has dawned upon Dr. Sexton, it is not strange that, in hastily drawing his conclusions, he should have mingled much of error with the truths he has discovered. Possibly some of the cases that have come under his notice may have been the result of bad practice on the part of incompetent dental practitioners, but to charge the dental profession with their short-comings would be a matter of great injustice. Dr. Sexton is too hasty in his conclusions. First, he discovered that certain pulpless teeth had caused certain ailments, hence he condemns all pulpless teeth. He has discovered that certain dentists have failed to treat such teeth successfully, hence he condemns the dental profession for attempting to save teeth, it would be equally fair to condemn the whole medical profession, because of the incompetency of some of its members. But before dismissing the subject of pulpless teeth, it may be well for us to examine the subject a little more carefully from the standpoint of the medical writers above referred to. We cannot afford to make a mistake with regard to so important a matter. The higher a man stands in his profession, the more serious the mistakes he makes, and the more important it is that his practice be sound. An enthusiast or an extremist may injure a good cause. There are such men in our ranks.
A few years ago a prominent dentist said, "The tooth's pulp is its soul, and it is criminal to destroy it."
I heard another prominent dentist say, "If I find a part of the pulp dead, I amputate the dead tissues, and save the balance of the pulp alive."
A dentist has just moved away from Burlington, who has been in practice there for fifteen years, and during that time he has been using arsenic for obtunding sensitive dentine, and he has succeeded in accomplishing his purpose admirably. I have found in one month half a dozen filled teeth containing dead pulps, and, of course as many alveolar abscesses in active operation. The evils arising from such abominable methods of practice are simply appalling.
I have less frequently met with cases where those fistulous openings were on the neck or chest. In those cases the roots of the teeth are usually long, and when the abscess breaks through the lower border of the jaw, and the pus comes in contact with the soft tissues, it follows the course of the muscles and forms a sinous as it gravitates to some point on the neck or chest. I have known of a number of such cases being under medical treatment for years, where the affection was supposed to be of a strumpous nature, and the real cause was not suspected, and in every case a rapid recovery has followed the extraction of the offending tooth.
Gentlemen, I have no doubt but the most of you are disappointed in the nature of this paper. I have scarcely alluded to the treatment and filling of pulpless teeth. That had not been my purpose. But I have wished to call attention to the fact that a large majority of the ailments above referred to have been due to diseased teeth that have never received any attention whatever at the hands of competent dentists.