| The impetus given to the study of bacteriology by the introduction of the exact methods of bacteriological investigation now in vogue, has led to discoveries in the domain of dental and oral pathology which are of the greatest importance not to the dental surgeon alone but equally to the practitioner of general medicine.
It has been established beyond all question that myriads of micro-organisms are constantly present in the human mouth, and that these, under favorable circumstances, are capable of manifesting an action of the utmost significance upon the local as well as the general health of the patient. Not alone are they responsible for the vast majority of those diseases of the teeth and contiguous parts which the dental surgeon is called upon to treat, but may also give rise to other local and general disorders of the most serious nature.
These various disturbances are produced partly by the direct action of micro-organisms and their products upon the teeth and the mucous membrane of the mouth, partly by constant swallowing of large masses of bacteria, partly by carrying them into the lungs, particularly in cases of violent inspiration, and, finally, by their obtaining an entrance into the blood or lymph-vessels in the various ways described in Chapter XI.
The existence of a most excellent nursery for bacteria at the very portal of the human body is a fact which has only recently begun to receive the attention which its importance demands.
It has been my endeavor in the following pages to bring about a better understanding of the nature and extent of bacteritic growths in the human mouth, of the disasterous effects which they are capable of producing, and, accordingly, a more proper appreciation of the importance of dental surgery and dental hygiene as a branch of general medicine.
The contents of the book consist chiefly of original investigations which, in part, have appeared in different American, English, and German journals, and in part appear here for the first time.
The first three chapters are designed more particularly for those of my readers who may not have occupied themselves with bacteriological studies, it being, in my opinion, utterly impossible for anyone to obtain a proper understanding of the action of micro-organisms in the mouth without a knowledge of at least the elementary principles lying at the foundation of the science of bacteriology.
Of those works to which I am indebted for aid in my labor, I wish to mention in particular the Lehrbuch der Mikroorganismen, by FlŸgge, and Die Fortschritte in der Lehre von den pathogenen Mikroorganismen, by Baumgarten.
I take pleasure in acknowledging the very valuable assistance rendered me by my friend Mr. Frank Thilly, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the preparation of the manuscript.
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