. The principles and practice of dental surgery. n is so closely allied to chronic inflammation andtumefaction of the gums, as scarcely to require separate con-sideration. The progress of the disease is usually so slow that ten, fifteen,or twenty years are required to affect very perceptibly the sta-bility of the teeth in their sockets. The commencement of thisdestructive process is usually first observed around the cuspidteeth; sometimes it makes its first appearance on the alveoli ofthe palatine roots of the first and second upper molars, andoccasionally it goes on here for years before it a
. The principles and practice of dental surgery. n is so closely allied to chronic inflammation andtumefaction of the gums, as scarcely to require separate con-sideration. The progress of the disease is usually so slow that ten, fifteen,or twenty years are required to affect very perceptibly the sta-bility of the teeth in their sockets. The commencement of thisdestructive process is usually first observed around the cuspidteeth; sometimes it makes its first appearance on the alveoli ofthe palatine roots of the first and second upper molars, andoccasionally it goes on here for years before it affects the socketsof any of the other teeth. The teeth after their roots have been partially exposed,become, as might naturally be sup- yig. i66. posed, more susceptible to impressionfrom heat and cold and more by acids, or saccharine mat-ters ; but this is about the onlymanifest inconvenience experiencedfrom the disease, until the teeth beginto loosen in their sockets. In Fig. 166 is represented a case in which the roots of the. 494 CAUSES OF DESTRUCTION OF THE ALVEOLI. teeth have become considerably exposed by the gradual wast-ing of their sockets : the destruction being, as is usual, greatesttoward the median line. CAUSES. The cause of this peculiar affection has never been very satis-factorily explained. Some have supposed that, inasmuch as itoccurs most frequently in persons of advanced age, it resultsfrom a decline of the vital powers of the body, independently oflocal causes. But, as it is often met with in middle-aged per-sons whose constitutional health is unimpaired, we doubt thecorrectness of the opinion. In all cases which have come underour observation, whether in middle-aged or very old persons, theteeth indicated an excellent innate constitution, whatever mayhave been the state of the general health at the time. In everyinstance these organs were possessed of great density, and thisfact is particularly noticed by Mr. Fox, who says : In a majority
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