Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons. [Volume: 2, Issue: 1, August, 1860, pp. 25-32]

PROCEEDINGS OF DENTAL SOCIETIES.

27

ally attendant upon dental operations, is one of the greatest annoyances
that the practitioner is subjected to, and that every effort should be made,
by the use of napkins, to protect the filling from becoming wet; but when
these prove of no avail, rather than leave the cavity unfilled, as a last
resort the "submarine operation" of filling under water should be performed. He had seen teeth thus filled years ago, and the operations are
still in a perfect condition.
Having referred to the various methods employed to protect fillings
from becoming wet or submerged, he stated that when operating upon
the upper jaw, and the saliva collects so rapid as to become troublesome
to the patient, he suspends the operation and covers the tooth with a
napkin folded several times, and then requests the patient to allow the
saliva to flow into the spittoon, without closing the mouth. After this
the operation is again resumed. In this way he has been enabled to
keep fillings perfectly dry when the secretion was excessive; and prefers
this plan to employing any of the apparatus that have been invented for
the removal of saliva, regarding the difficulty of keeping them clean
as a strong objection to their use.
Dr. Harris remarked, that he should like to hear an expression of
opinion from the different members, upon saliva when it is in a vitiated
condition, and of the effect upon the teeth when it had so deteriorated. He could not but believe that saliva, when strongly acid in character, acted upon the teeth in a most injurious manner, predisposing
them to caries, and could recall instances where vitiated saliva acted as
a solvent of the teeth, destroying them most effectually. The decay in
such cases would usually be found upon the labial surfaces and at the
necks of the teeth. This change in the nature of saliva was not confined
alone to that secretion, as the same deterioration could be seen in the
synovial fluids and the lachrymal secretion, as, upon their becoming
vitiated by a diseased action of the system, they would act as irritants to
the surrounding tissues, exciting them to inflammatory action. It was,
therefore, an important consideration that, to prevent caries of the teeth,
the saliva should be normal in character.
Dr. Garretson remarked, he scarcely knew in what direction to treat the
subject under discussion, for were he to speak of the anatomy of the salivary glands, or even of their microscopical structure, it would be but to
repeat something neither new or interesting to the gentlemen around him.
Should he refer to the physiology of secretion, to the process of insalivation, to the digestive action performed by the saliva in connection with
the secretion of the pancreas on non-azotized food, or, still further, trace
the product to its expenditure in calorification, he should but present
well-known truths which he supposed were familiar to every member
present.
He thought, however, it might not be amiss to offer a few remarks on