From a passage in the fifth chapter we learn that tooth brushes were then already in use. Fauchard, however, advises the use of small sponges in their stead. He says: “Those who use brushes of horsehair, or pieces of cloth or of linen for cleaning the teeth, do not reflect that all these materials are too rough, and that the practice of using them frequently and without discretion often exercises a destructive action upon the teeth.[413] Not without good reason, I advise the abandonment of this usage, it being preferable, after having had the teeth cleaned by the dentist, to wash the mouth every morning with tepid water, and to rub the teeth up and down, inside and outside, with a small, very fine sponge wetted in water; and it is still better to add to this water a fourth part of aqua vitæ the better to fortify the gums and render the teeth firm.”
Instead of a small sponge, says Fauchard, the end of a root of marshmallow or lucern, which has first been subjected to a special preparation, may be used with benefit for rubbing the teeth. The author gives a long and minute description of this preparation, which we, however, omit, because devoid of historical interest.
As, however, the above means are not always sufficient for preserving the teeth and gums in good condition, it is necessary in many cases, says Fauchard, to make use of some paste, powder, or mouth wash. The author mentions a great number of compositions of this kind, giving the formula for each one—almost always most complicated—and indicating the peculiar advantages of each of them. We will here quote one of the formulæ as an example.
“A spirituous water, desiccative, balsamic, antiscorbutic, efficacious against many maladies of the mouth:
“℞—good sarsaparilla, four ounces; aristolochia rotunda, dried rinds of bitter organes, of lemons, and pomegranates, ana three ounces; pyrethrum, two ounces; cloves, one ounce; mustard seeds, one ounce; wild rocket seeds, two ounces. Pound well in a mortar and put the whole into a retort with a long neck. Add thereto half a pound of pulverized candied sugar and the same quantity of clarified rose honey. Pour in three pints of good spirit of wine. Cork the retort well and leave all to digest in a cool place for five or six days. Then heat the retort forty-eight hours in the water bath over a slow fire, without letting the liquid come to the boil. Afterward, when cold, decant in a glass bottle, to be kept well corked. Pour another three pints of spirit of wine on the residue of the drugs; cork the retort again, replacing it in the water bath for forty-eight hours, and regulating the fire as above. Then, after letting it cool, pour off the liquid into the same bottle. Next remove all the residue from the retort, place it in a thick, white linen cloth, and force the remaining liquid through it, and add to that in the bottle. Put back half of the entire quantity of liquid in the same retort, and add thereto aloetic elixir and baume du commandeur, ana four ounces; pulverized dragon’s blood, three ounces and a half; pulverized gum of guaiac and Peruvian balsam, ana three ounces; gum lac, two ounces. Cork the retort again and replace it in the water bath for forty-eight hours, as above. Let cool, decant the liquid in another glass bottle, and cork well. Pour the remaining half of the first liquid upon the rest of the drugs, replace the retort in the water bath for forty-eight hours, let cool, and pour the contents in the last bottle. Filter the liquid well, and pour it into a bottle of sufficient size to be able to add the following liquids: aqua vulneraria and first cinnamon water, ana three pints; second cinnamon water, three half-pints; spirit of cochlearia, four pints. Shake the bottle well, filter again, and store in well-corked bottles.”
The author adds that the doses of the different drugs may be reduced in proportion to the quantity of liquor to be prepared; and that he prepares so large a quantity at a time because of the great sale he has for it among his clients.
The preparation in question is counselled by the author as a remedy against pathological conditions, and of the gums especially. One makes use of it in the following manner: Pour from seven to eight drops into a wineglass of water; wet the tip of the finger and rub the gums and the teeth well. Or mix seven or eight drops in a good spoonful of water, using a fine sponge to rub the teeth and gums.
The example we have cited suffices to show how much care one took at that time in the preparation of substances destined to be used in the preservation of the teeth, and demonstrates at the same time that Fauchard, inventor of that and many other preparations, besides being an able surgeon-dentist, was also exceedingly well versed in dental materia medica.
Chapter VII treats of the general causes of dental, alveolar, and gingival diseases, and contains the complete enumeration of these maladies. The causes of dental affections may be of two orders, viz., internal (general diseases, dyscrasic conditions) and external (the action of heat and cold, mechanical causes, etc.).
After having spoken in particular of various causes, Fauchard adds: “Little or no care as to the cleanliness of the teeth is ordinarily the cause of all the maladies that destroy them.”