Review of Dental Literature and Art. [Volume: 2, Issue: 11, June, 1861, pp. 611-624]

622

THE DENTAL COSMOS.

tions. To this he responded that if he should do so, he would have to
keep his hands in the wash basin all the time. It is hardly necessary to
add that the patient left and never returned.
* * * "Our offices are not a fit place for social intercourse, they are
for business. While in them we are to treat all with the same respectful
consideration during the time required for professional services. But it is
not our duty to offer inducements to any to remain longer. Do not,
therefore, urge them to stay; you do not know at what moment a patient
may call whom you would prefer to meet alone; you do not want either
to hear the other's complaints or commendations. Have you not had
Mr. A., whom you have not seen for three years, come in just as you
were making an engagement with Miss B., and say in her presence,
'Doctor, one of the plugs you put in for me last year, came out a few
days ago,' when in fact it had never been filled by any one; or, perchance,
had been filled many years before by some other dentist?
"Miss B., in the mean time, has left with an unfavorable impression,
strengthened, it may be, by some casual remark of some admirer of your
neighbor dentist, and possibly you see nothing more of her-for our
patients do not always fulfill their engagements. But this fact does not
afford any pretext for the neglect of our engagements. * * *
"Much of success depends upon the manner of our operating; it is
not to be done hurriedly, nor are we to wear out our patients by too long
sittings. Again, there are those for whom it is well to operate when you
have the opportunity. A correct discrimination as to the time is equally
as important as the manner of operating. 'There is a time for everything under the sun.' Have your instruments in proper order before your
patient sits in the chair, that the sharpening may not grate harshly on his
ears, or the cleansing be associated with their previous use. Listen to
your patient's wishes; have respect to them, but consult your own interest
and that of your profession first, both of which being combined are paramount to his. If his teeth are to be filled, he will say to you, ' fix the
worst ones first.' Are you to do it? By no means! A little placebo
may be necessary; a little camphor and cotton; make the application,
and by the time you have filled the smaller cavities, your camphor will have
done wonders. But how? Not so much in its having 'toughened the
inflamed dentine,' as in your having obtained the confidence of your
patient and in his better control of his nerves, by which he will better
bear the operation, and so afford you an opportunity to complete it in the
best possible manner; whereas, if you had commenced with the 'worst
ones,' your patient's courage might have failed him by the time they were
completed. Do not then begin with 'the worst,' for by so doing you take
all the risks, among which may be mentioned the larger quantity of material required, the more time consumed, and the greater liability of the
teeth to furnish cause for complaint by their aching, or sensibility to
changes in the temperature of the food and drinks.
"Let the same rule be observed in the extraction of a number of teeth,
commencing with the one most easily drawn, and you will thereby inspire
confidence and give courage."
"DIAGNOSIS. (Read before the Mississippi Valley Dental Association, Feb. 20, 1861.) By DR. W. H. ATKINSON.-Diagnosis, from the
Greek words 4Ja, through, and rtvwaxw, to know. Hence, to see through
a case to demonstrative perception of the physical condition present.