Centrifugal Casting.-After about eight years' experience with various forms of casting apparatus, I have come to the following conclusions: (1) That the casting process is invaluable in the case of inlays, crowns, or anything resting on a hard surface which does not yield to pressure; (2) it is of distinct value in difficult lowers; (3) a swaged plate is best in the average upper case; it is more resilient, stronger, and takes a higher finish.

All the different forms of casting apparatus will give good results. The centrifugal force, acting as it does simultaneously on every atom of the molten metal and drawing it into the cast, seems ideal in theory; in practice, however, the other methods give equal results.-COLIN KEAY, Brit. Dental Journal.

Casting Dummies for Bridge Work.It is rather difficult to carve a wax pattern for a dummy, and also extravagant to use 24-k. gold in order to get a solid gold tooth that will not discolor in the mouth. My method to overcome these two points is as follows: Select a facing or porcelain tooth the exact shape and size required to fill the space. Run a die and counter-die in Melotte's metal, using the selected porcelain tooth as a pattern, and strike up a shell with 24-k. or sovereign gold. Trim this shell to fit the model. Now solder a small clip as a retaining point inside the shell and fill with wax; replace on the model, and carve away all surplus wax. Place a sprue into the thickest part of the wax, invest, and cast with scrap or inferior quality gold. This will give a solid dummy, and one which will not discolor where exposed to view.-Commonwealth Dental Review.

Unsterilized Root-canal Instruments.It is almost inconceivable that for years dentists, dental surgeons, if you please, should have strayed so far from basic principles that they should overlook the danger of plunging a barbed broach into a vital pulp unless that broach has previously been sterilized. The same thing applies to all other instruments used in root-canal operations, and yet you and I know that up to within the past four or five years sterilization of our fine root-canal instruments was not a process in general use. These instruments may be sterilized in various ways. One simple method is by employing the Halverson sterilizer. Have the water boiling; the instruments, on a small tray which comes with the sterilizer, are put in the water, and from there are [VOL. LX. 43]

placed in the warm air chamber, and quickly dried.-ELMER S. BEST, Minneapolis District Dental Journal.

I

Making a Plate Prior to Extraction.— I saw something in your "Hints" column about making plates before extractions. have taken an impression for an upper, and cut off five fronts and three bicuspids on the plaster model, and made the vulcanite plate with the eight teeth on, then extracted the teeth and put the plate in right away, and the patient was very pleased.

I find it a good plan when there are many teeth to extract and the patient has not worn a plate, to extract the bicuspids and molars, make a plate with the posterior teeth, and let the patient wear it for a few weeks; then take an impression with the plate in, cut off the plaster fronts and add to the plate before extracting the anteriors, and let the patient use it as a temporary plate until the gums shrink. This acts well with a lower plate also.-C. PATERSON, Commonwealth Dental Review.

Advantages of Phenol-sulfonic Acid.The consistence of this agent is thick and syrupy, rather oleaginous in character, in the 80 per cent. strength which is recommended; thus a drop will adhere to the end of a broach or other applicator, permitting it to be carried even into the canals of upper teeth without difficulty. The acid does not materially affect a broach, and if any of it accidentally gets on the enamel of the crown of the tooth and is not noticed for a time, it does not decalcify and whiten the spot to the extent that sulfuric acid would do. When the acid is worked through the end of the root, as is desirable for cauterization in cases of a dental granuloma or alveolar abscess, it is sufficiently cauterant for the purpose desired, yet not as destructive as sulfuric acid would be, and owing to its analgesic tendencies it causes less pericementitis. In this connection, however, I want to say that we should not expect to do this work as it must be done, without more or less soreness following the treatment. There is a wide variance in patients regarding the reaction of the periapical tissue to these agents, and in these chronic conditions it is generally best to invite and create inflammatory reaction, that the sluggish cells in the area may take on new life and activity. This should not be done, however, at the expense of unnecessary destruction of tissue.-J. P. BUCKLEY, Journ. N. D. A.

Anilin Dye as a Germicide.-The following method of preparation and application has been used with much success in my practice for the past year, in treating chronic abscess and pyorrhea. Make a solution in the proportion of about half a grain of anilin violet (methyl-violet B) to one dram of distilled water. Inject a small quantity of the solution into the fistulous opening of the abscess, with a blunt-pointed syringe. The syringe should have a glass barrel, and the point be of either gold or platinum. The abscess should be treated surgically first. If necessary it should be curetted, or in a case of root-excision the parts should first be properly cared for. The anilin solution should be used three or four times at intervals of every other day. It may be applied with cotton twisted on a broach. In severe chronic cases or in pyorrhea pockets a small pledget of cotton may be saturated and pressed into the orifice and left for twenty-four hours. The anilin treatment may be followed with bismuth paste as a final dressing. In using anilin dye it is necessary to use some care on account only of the color, as there is absolutely no danger from the stain on the lips or tongue. Besides, the stain can readily be removed with absorbent cotton and water.-GEO. D. SITHERWOOD, Dental Review.

Sterilization of Instruments.-The problem before dentists at the present time in the transmission of disease-producing organisms is the same great problem that has been so well attacked and overcome in general surgery against wound infections since the revolutionary teachings of Lister. Surgeons have been forced to improve their methods from the fact that an infected instrument introduced into a wound or the field of operation produces an infection which has frequently been traced directly to the use of such unsterile instruments or faulty technique. On the other hand, when a patient receives the causative agent of disease from an unclean dental instrument, he does not know the disease was acquired in this manner; the dentist does not know it, in fact probably does not even know of the presence of the diseaseproducing organisms. There is no way of absolutely tracing infections contracted in a dental office; therefore, for his carelessness the accusing hand does not always point directly at the dentist as with the surgeon.

The knowledge of asepsis in surgery, and of bacteriological expert laboratory controls, must be the spur to advance along these lines, and so there must be developed in each one an antiseptic technique, and an "antiseptic

to the upper right bicuspid region, which had not produced any symptoms other than the elevation of the tissue.

Fig. 1 is a roentgenogram of the upper right bicuspid region showing the presence of a collection of denticles. The patient was referred to Dr. John Voss of Iowa City, Iowa, who extracted thirty denticles (shown in Fig. 2) from the first bicuspid socket. All teeth were present, and occlusion was perfect, excepting the third molars, which had not erupted.-BUNDY ALLEN, M.D., Journ. A. M. A.

Treatment of Oral Sepsis.-In my opinion, the original focus of the severer types of oral sepsis is at the margin of the gums and teeth. Mastication forces food in between the teeth, and between the gums and teeth. This food sets up a certain amount of irritation, and forms a suitable nidus for various organisms. The first problem is how to prevent food lodging in these sites; this can be solved only by efficient cleansing with a brush, which must be fairly stiff, and used after each meal in conjunction with a powder. I have found the following excellent: Magnesia carb. pond. 3 parts; sulf. sublim., sapo castil., ää 1 part; ol. menth. pip. q. s. If gingivitis or pyorrhea has already commenced, the affected area should be firmly swabbed with a small, tightly rolled pledget of wool held in a pincet and dipped in liq. cresol saponis or any of its substitutes, taking care to remove the excess before using. A tumbler of warm water and spittoon should be ready to use immediately after. The thymol mouthwash should be prescribed. This method, I venture to predict, will come as a revelation to all who have labored for weeks and months with iodin, hydrogen dioxid, and other methods, as it is so rapid in its effects; only in very advanced cases have I found it necessary to apply the liq. cresol saponis twice, and rarely three times, at two-day intervals.-N. C. FISCHER, Brit. Journ. Dental Science.

Paraffin Treatment of Burns.-The use of a French proprietary called ambrine was announced comparatively early in the war. Ambrine is a preparation of hard paraffin, containing, some say, resin and oil of amber. When melted and applied to burns or wounds, it forms an airtight coating, under which the lesion rapidly and completely heals. Its success was undoubted, and it was not long before investigations were afoot with a view to ascertain the rationale of its action, and if possible, to discover an effective and inexpensive substitute for use on a large scale. Ordinary paraffin was not sufficiently plastic when applied to the skin, and attempts to mix resin with it failed, owing to separation of the resin when the mixture was heated. It was found, however, that when hard paraffin was heated to 130° C. by means of superheated steam, some molecular change took place. The melting point was reduced sev

eral degrees, and the substance took on properties similar to ambrine. This paraffin, with the addition of certain antiseptics, is known officially as "No. 7 Paraffin," and its formula is--Resorcin, 1 part (or beta-naphthol, 0.25); oil of eucalyptus, 2; olive oil, 5; hard paraffin, 67; soft paraffin, 25. The method of application is as follows: The burn is washed with sterile water, and carefully dried; a layer of melted paraffin is then painted on, and covered with a thin layer of cotton; a second layer of melted paraffin is applied over that, and the whole covered with wool and a bandage. The dressing is changed daily at first, later every second day.-Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy.

A New Thought About Making Plaster Models.-Making plaster models that are exact and perfect duplicates of the parts involved, and at the same time strong and substantial, with the thin ends and angles of the. teeth reproduced absolutely perfectly and of sufficient strength, and securing a model of isolated teeth standing alone at some distance from neighboring teeth, with such strength that they will not break off from the model when separating, or subsequently while working on the case, is often fraught with sore trials and disappointments, because dental plaster does not possess the desired edge and angle strength, nor sufficient strength to sustain a model of a slender tooth standing alone in many cases. The following described method will enable you to make a model possessing all the desired qualifications suggested above: Before filling the impression with plaster fill the portions of the impression in which you desire strength and accuracy with synthetic porcelain, or Aschers artificial enamel, or a good quality of dental cement, and while it is soft and plastic insert a piece of copper wire or staple of the required gage to give strength, leaving the staples protruding from the porcelain, enamel, or cement, whichever you use. When hardened fill up the impression with plaster so that the protruding staples will be embedded in the plaster, thus holding all parts of the model firmly together. Upon separating the case you will find the thin edges and angles of the teeth perfectly reproduced and strong, and the isolated teeth of the model firm and strong also.-H. A. CROSS, Dental Review.

Dr. Alvin Richard Eaton.

[SEE FRONTISPIECE.]

DIED, Tuesday, April 9, 1918, in his seventyninth year, at his home in Elizabeth, N. J.. after an illness of several months, ALVIN RICHARD EATON, D.D.S.

Dr. Eaton, the son of Edwin D. and Harriott (Litchfield) Eaton, was born in Whitehall, N. Y., March 19, 1840, where he received his preliminary education in the public schools of that city, later attending the Columbia Grammar School in New York and a private academy at Keyport, N. Y.

While still a young man, Dr. Eaton removed to MacGregor, Iowa, in which place he was engaged in business for a number of years. In 1862 Dr. Eaton returned to the East, and having determined to take up the study of dentistry, entered the office of Dr. Pretere. After completing his studies under Dr. Pretere, he returned to Whitehall, N. Y., and there began the practice of dentistry.

In 1872 Dr. Eaton removed to Elizabeth, N. J., and associated himself with the late Dr. A. W. Kingsley, which partnership continued until Dr. Kingsley retired, after which Dr. Eaton continued the practice thus established until February 1917, when he also retired from active practice. In 1888 Dr. Eaton entered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, from which institution he received his D.D.S. degree.

Dr. Eaton was a charter member of the Dental Society of the State of New York; a member of the New Jersey State Dental Society, serving as its president in 1886; a member of the Central Dental Association of Northern New Jersey, and also served as president of this society in 1890; an associate member of the New York Institute of Stomatology; member of the American Academy of Dental Surgery of New Jersey, serving as its

treasurer in 1886; a member of the New York Odontological Society; was first president of the New Jersey State Board of Registration and Examination, of which he was a member for many years, and in the work of which he took an enthusiastic interest.

Dr. Eaton was largely instrumental in founding the Free Dental Clinic for school children in New Jersey, and was the treasurer of the free dental clinic of Elizabeth until the time of his retirement from active practice.

Dr. Eaton was a member of the Masonic Lodge of Whitehall, N. Y. He was the first president of the Suburban Club of Elizabeth and also a member of the Mattano Club and the Elizabeth Club as well as of the Elizabeth Town and Country Club. He was a member and communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church of Elizabeth.

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his entrance into the practice of dentistry, March 18, 1911, the Dental Society of the State of New York and the New Jersey Dental Society tendered to Dr. Eaton a complimentary dinner at the New York Athletic Club, New York City. On this occasion Dr. C. S. Hardy, a lifelong friend of Dr. Eaton, paid to him the following tribute:

This dinner is given to our guest, not only that we may in this way pay tribute to his seventy-first birthday and the beginning of his fiftieth year of practice, but to show our appreciation of the high quality of work he has done through these his many years of labor as a practical dentist. To pay homage to the stalwart figure of more than threescore and ten that contains such a noble man, retiring and unostentatious, yet a man among men, bearing malice toward none and with charity to all; who has reaped his harvest, and blended harmoniously his own atmosphere -who has sown the seeds of kindness and

encouragement, alike amid adversity and prosperity, and like the weathered oak has stood the test of time and gale, thus individually increasing the flow of that eternal stream of progress which by its gradual refinement has added to the world's culture and enterprise.

Such men The we should all emulate. power of his example will live long, and its influence will be felt beyond a generation— fortunate indeed are those who can so pattern after him.

Dr. Eaton was married on June 29, 1863, to Miss Katharine Jane O'Reilly of Whitehall, N. Y. Dr. Eaton is survived by two sons, Capt. Robert L. Eaton and Dr. Alvin R. Eaton. Jr., of this city.

THE members of the Union County Dental Society wish publicly to express their sorrow at the death of their friend and associate, Dr. Alvin R. Eaton of Elizabeth, N. J., and to that end have passed the following resolutions:

RESOLVED, That in his death we feel the loss of a valued and esteemed member, who always stood for the highest there is in dentistry; and be it

RESOLVED, That the warmest sympathy be extended to his family in their great bereavement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this society, and that a copy be sent to the various dental journals.

A. P. ROBERTS, OSCAR ADELBERG, Committee.

Dr. Rufus W. Carroll.

DIED, Friday, April 26, 1918, at his home in Beaumont, Texas, in his fifty-third year, RUFUS W. CARROLL, D.D.S.

In the death of Dr. Carroll his community and state lost a good citizen and the dental profession a man of sterling qualities, who ever upheld its highest traditions.

Dr. Carroll was born in Natchitoches Parish, La., in 1865. He came to Texas in 1883, and was actively engaged in the prac

tice of his profession in Beaumont for thirty years.

After graduating from Baylor University at Waco, Texas, Dr. Carroll entered the Dental Department of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., where he received the dental degree in 1888. In that same year he was married to Miss Lutie Banks Armstrong of Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Carroll was a member of the Texas Dental Society, the National Dental Association, and of the old Southern Dental Association until it merged with the National. He was an active worker and served on many committees. For a number of years he was chairman of the board of censors of his state society, of which at the time of his death he was first vice-president. He was a member of the Woodmen of the World, and of the First Baptist Church of Beaumont.

During his long practice in Beaumont, Dr. Carroll by his exemplary life and earnest work gathered about him a host of friends, and his death caused sorrow in many homes in Jefferson county, as well as in other sections where he was known.

Dr. Carroll is survived by his wife and six children.

J. E. STOREY.

"In Memoriam" Resolutions.

Dr. Isaac H. Davis.

THE following in memoriam resolutions on the death of Dr. I. H. Davis were adopted by the Maryland State Dental Association at its February 1918 meeting:

Whereas, an all-wise Providence in His infinite wisdom has taken from our midst through death one of our highly esteemed and well-beloved members, Dr. Isaac H. Davis; and

Whereas, his life, work, and association have been an example and stimulus to the many who knew him well and were privileged to come under his influence; and

Whereas, his usefulness as a citizen, teacher, practitioner, and member of this body