The Human Mouth as a Focus of Infection. [Volume: 33, Issue: 9, September, 1891, pp. 689-713]

690

THE DENTAL COSMOS.

I. Disturbances of the Human Body which have been traced to
the Action of Germs growing in the Mouth.
II. The Pathogenic Mouth-Bacteria.
III. Prophylactic Measures.*
I. DISEASES OF THE HUMAN BODY WHICH HAVE BEEN TRACED
TO THE ACTION OF MOUTH-BACTERIA.
i. Decay of the Teeth.
In conformity with the nearly unanimous verdict of all recent investigations, decay of the teeth must be set down as the most widespread
of all parasitic diseases to which the human body is subject; and
although, as far as the life of the patient is concerned, the prognosis is
exceedingly good and decay of the teeth may be pronounced one of
the most trivial disturbances in the human economy, yet, if we take
into consideration the results which follow a case of general decay,
particularly in the mouth of young or weak persons, it often becomes
a disease of very grave nature.
I venture to say that most practitioners of dentistry will agree with
me that the havoc wrought by dental caries in the mouths of vast
numbers of children, or even adults, among the lower classes is a
much more serious thing than an attack of chicken-pox, rubeola, or
even measles.
2-4. Pulpilis, Gangrene of the Pulp, Pericementtiis.
Inflammation of the dental pulp, with the exception of the comparatively few cases where it is the result of trauma or of calcareous
formations in the pulp-chamber, erosion, abrasion, etc., is due
directly or indirectly to parasitic influences, while gangrene of the
pulp can never have any other origin under any circumstances.
Pericementitis apicalis, the form of pericementitis which is most
severe and gives rise to the most serious consequences, is likewise of
parasitic origin, being produced by germs or their products, or by
both together passing from the root-canal through the apical foramen.
That the pain attending a severe case of pulpitis or pericementitis
is usually of so intense a character as to make it a very serious matter
to the person who has to bear it, is too well known to need any
comment. That the sufferer usually receives so little sympathy is to
be accounted for by the fact that the direct mortality is almost zero,
while the eventual loss of the tooth is often short-sightedly regarded
as a matter of little consequence, in consideration of the fact that it
is only one of a large number, and may eventually be replaced by a
better one of porcelain, which cannot ache.
* Sections II and III of this series will appear in the October and November
issues of the DENTAL COSMOS respectively.-EDITOR DENTAL COS.MOS.