Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1890 — Pulling Teeth. [ARTICLE]

Pulling Teeth.

The extraction of teeth is usually accompanied by a slight flow of blood, which ordinarily ceases before the patient quits the dentist’s office. Wheie this is not the ease, or where the hemorrhage breaks out afresh when medical advice is not at hand, it should be borne in mind that the first and most natural check is the clotting of the blood in the cavity, and this should not be disturbed, says a writer in Good Housekeeper. If it is necessary to rinse the mouth, let it be done very carefully, so as not to dislodge the clot, if one is forming. Where this does not occur, the first recourse should be to an astringent, and tannin is the best of all. If that is not at hand, finely powered alum will answer very well, burnt cork may be sprinkled over the surface, or a little ball of spider’s web, lightly pressed into the wound, may answer the purpose when other means fail, as this pest of every housekeeper is an invaluable styptic. In addition to some of these, a compress may be necessary, and an article which will answer all purposes may be made for an emergency by cutting a V-shaped slit in a cork of the right dimensions to pass over the wounded gun. This may be lightly pressed into place by the teeth of the other jaw, and as it is applied a pledget of lint or similar dressing may properly be fitted to the cavity, though often the compress alone will prove effectual. It is useful, also, in such cases, to maintain an erect position of the patient, either sitting or standing. Warm foot baths are also helpful, with friction of the lower limbs, to divert the blood from the head as much as practicable. These directions and suggestions apply, of course, to such occasions as require treatment in the absence, or awaiting the arrival, of the family physician or the dentist.