IN DEFENCE OF THE TOOTH-BRUSH.
1
344 are both excellent. It remains to be seen whether sufficient material can be produced in one country to maintain the output at a high standard. A SEPTEMBER POST-GRADUATE COURSE FOR PRACTITIONERS. A COURSE of instruction for qualified practitioners will be given at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital during the summer vacation, beginning Monday, Sept. 6th, and ending Saturday, Sept. 18th. The object in view is to afford practitioners the opportunity of attending the practice of a large metropolitan hospital and medical college for a short period and of receiving systematic teaching from members of the hospital staff at a time when ordinary lectures and classes are in abeyance and comparatively few students are in attendance. The course includes the usual rounds of the physicians, surgeons, and specialists on the hospital staff, as well as demonstrations in the wards and in the out-patient departments. There will also be a series of special demonstrations on such things as the clinical significance of gastric secretion, carcinoma of the tongue, amputations in relation to artificial limb-fitting, the diagnosis and treatment of chronic sepsis of the lung and pleura, infections of the urinary tract, sanocrysin in pulmonary tuber- culosis, artificial sunlight in general medicine, and regional and local anaesthesia. Practitioners attending the post-graduate course become temporary honorary members of the Students’ Union and have the use of the Abernethian smoking and writing rooms and of the dining room. The composition fee for the whole course is 10 guineas, reduced to 8 guineas for prac- titioners who are perpetual students of the hospital, while either week of the course may be taken for the fee of 6 guineas (5 guineas). Every practitioner who enters for a course is required to call on the Dean and to sign the hospital register. Application should be made to the Dean, Dr. T. W. Shore, St. Bartholo- mew’s Hospital Medical College, London, E.C. 4. A NEW DUST TRAP FOR ROCK DRILLING. THE introduction of the percussive or pneumatic drill for carving granite and for boring holes in rocks into which explosive charges are inserted has added greatly to the dust danger of granite workers and miners, more particularly when the rocks contain silica, as in the case of granites and many metalliferous lodes. Many efforts have been made in the past to control the escape of the dust by the use of water either through hollow drills or by sprays, but they have proved little more than palliatives, and the incidence of silicosis has gone pari passu with increased use of the drills. Now, however, the welcome announcement is made from the Mines Department of an ingenious device for trapping the dust as it is formed. 1 It is sucked away from the place where the drill enters the rock by an exhaust draught which is actuated by spent air escaping from the drill. This air is made to pass off by a nozzle placed within a larger pipe when, on the ejector principle, it induces a considerable suction of air into the pipe. The more the drill works, the more does spent air escape to induce a greater exhaust draught for catching the dust, since the pipe is made to open where the too] is at work. The exhaust draught carrying the dust is discharged into a flannel trouser, the bottom of which fits on to an open metal box. The air escapes readily through the flannel leaving the particles of dust behind. These particles are automatically shaken off the flannel down into the box by the pulsating nature of the exhaust draught due to successive puffs of spent air escaping from the machine drill. The device only comes into play when the drill is in action and makes use of semi- compressed air which was otherwise wasted. FOI A Method of Trapping the Dust Produced by Pneumatic Rock Drills. By P. S. Hay. Safety in Mines Research Board. Paper No. 23. H.M. Stationery Office. 1926. 6d. catching dust when holes are being blown out the ejector nozzle is attached direct to the compressed air supply. The efficiency of the device has been demonstrated by comparative dust counts which indicated from 58 to 198 dust particles per cubic centimetre of air with no work in progress, over 2000 particles (too many to count) with the drill at work without the device, and 163 to 332 with the device attached. In the South African gold mines the standard of safety adopted for dust concentration is 300 particles per cubic centimetre of air. This device may confidently be expected to save many lives from silicosis, and to go far towards banishing from the rock-drill the insidious and terrible risk which has always been associated with its use. IN DEFENCE OF THE TOOTH-BRUSH. IN the Scalpel of July lOth Dr. F. Watry combats the indictment of the tooth-brush by Dr. M. Polet in a recent number of the Annales de l’Institut Chirurgical de Bruxelles. Dr. Polet accused the tooth-brush of being a cause of dental caries, gum trouble, and pyorrhoea, and would have us trust instead to thorough mastication, fruits especially apples and fibrous roots at the end of a meal, and rinsing of the mouth. He also advocates the use of liquorice root as a substitute for the tooth-brush. Dr. Watry claims, on the other hand, that the tooth-brush is invaluable as a weapon of oral prophylaxis, and that the harm is done by badly constructed tooth-brushes, generally dirty, and used in the wrong way. Very few people, he says, have such perfect mouths as to justify dispensing with the tooth-brush. The brush should have a lighb impermeable handle and the bristles should be arranged so that they will clean the dental inter- spaces and so that they can be readily cleaned and disinfected by allowing water or disinfectant vapour to get between and around them. The brush should be suited to the individual mouth and, if possible, chosen by a specialist. It should be disinfected before its first use and cleaned and sterilised after each subsequent use. Boiling is not possible but formalin vapour may be used. Dr. Watry admits that among the masses one will have to be content with careful washing and keeping in a clean place. Before using the brush the mouth should be thoroughly rinsed and gargled. The brushing should be vertical, from below upwards for the upper jaw, from above downwards for the lower jaw with an energy suited to the tone of the tissues, so as not to cause bleeding. Thorough rinsing and gargling should follow the brushing. It is a good plan to follow the brushing by the use of a thread to clear the inter- dental spaces. Some experts also recommend massage of the gums with the fingers. These rules do not apply to mouths in a pathological or inflamma- tory condition, in which event medical advice should be sought. There is no reason to apprehend trouble owing to the moving of the buccal flora from one part of the mouth to another by a clean brush. The substitution of liquorice root for the tooth-brush cannot be con- sidered an advance. Dr. Polet’s paper, says Dr. Watry, will serve a useful purpose by drawing- attention to the abuse and clumsy use of the tooth- brush. Dr. Watry reminds us that the International Dental Federation, under the presidency of Prof.. , Brophy, of Chicago, instituted more than a year ago a thorough inquiry into the question of the tooth- i brush. The special committee appointed to conduct. the investigation has not issued its final report but . it made a provisional report to the Federation at the : Geneva meeting of 1925. The provisional reports ’ confirms the value of the tooth-brush and attributes : the harm imputed to it to its wrong use or to the use ’ of unsuitable brushes, and attaches great importance ’ to the education of the public as to the proper con- , struction and use of tooth-brushes. The committee : also proposes to go fully into the question of the alleged harm done by tooth-brushes, however small . it may be.
Transcript of IN DEFENCE OF THE TOOTH-BRUSH.
344
are both excellent. It remains to be seen whethersufficient material can be produced in one countryto maintain the output at a high standard.
A SEPTEMBER POST-GRADUATE COURSEFOR PRACTITIONERS.
A COURSE of instruction for qualified practitionerswill be given at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital duringthe summer vacation, beginning Monday, Sept. 6th,and ending Saturday, Sept. 18th. The object in viewis to afford practitioners the opportunity of attendingthe practice of a large metropolitan hospital andmedical college for a short period and of receivingsystematic teaching from members of the hospitalstaff at a time when ordinary lectures and classesare in abeyance and comparatively few students arein attendance. The course includes the usual roundsof the physicians, surgeons, and specialists on thehospital staff, as well as demonstrations in the wardsand in the out-patient departments. There will alsobe a series of special demonstrations on such thingsas the clinical significance of gastric secretion,carcinoma of the tongue, amputations in relation toartificial limb-fitting, the diagnosis and treatmentof chronic sepsis of the lung and pleura, infectionsof the urinary tract, sanocrysin in pulmonary tuber-culosis, artificial sunlight in general medicine, andregional and local anaesthesia. Practitioners attendingthe post-graduate course become temporary honorarymembers of the Students’ Union and have the use ofthe Abernethian smoking and writing rooms and ofthe dining room. The composition fee for the wholecourse is 10 guineas, reduced to 8 guineas for prac-titioners who are perpetual students of the hospital,while either week of the course may be taken for thefee of 6 guineas (5 guineas). Every practitionerwho enters for a course is required to call on the Deanand to sign the hospital register. Application shouldbe made to the Dean, Dr. T. W. Shore, St. Bartholo-mew’s Hospital Medical College, London, E.C. 4.
A NEW DUST TRAP FOR ROCK DRILLING.
THE introduction of the percussive or pneumaticdrill for carving granite and for boring holes in rocksinto which explosive charges are inserted has addedgreatly to the dust danger of granite workers andminers, more particularly when the rocks containsilica, as in the case of granites and many metalliferouslodes. Many efforts have been made in the past tocontrol the escape of the dust by the use of watereither through hollow drills or by sprays, but theyhave proved little more than palliatives, and theincidence of silicosis has gone pari passu with increaseduse of the drills. Now, however, the welcomeannouncement is made from the Mines Departmentof an ingenious device for trapping the dust as it isformed. 1 It is sucked away from the place where thedrill enters the rock by an exhaust draught whichis actuated by spent air escaping from the drill.This air is made to pass off by a nozzle placed withina larger pipe when, on the ejector principle, it inducesa considerable suction of air into the pipe. Themore the drill works, the more does spent air escapeto induce a greater exhaust draught for catching thedust, since the pipe is made to open where the too]is at work. The exhaust draught carrying the dustis discharged into a flannel trouser, the bottom ofwhich fits on to an open metal box. The air escapesreadily through the flannel leaving the particles ofdust behind. These particles are automaticallyshaken off the flannel down into the box by thepulsating nature of the exhaust draught due tosuccessive puffs of spent air escaping from themachine drill. The device only comes into playwhen the drill is in action and makes use of semi-compressed air which was otherwise wasted. FOI
A Method of Trapping the Dust Produced by PneumaticRock Drills. By P. S. Hay. Safety in Mines Research Board. Paper No. 23. H.M. Stationery Office. 1926. 6d.
catching dust when holes are being blown out theejector nozzle is attached direct to the compressedair supply. The efficiency of the device has beendemonstrated by comparative dust counts whichindicated from 58 to 198 dust particles per cubiccentimetre of air with no work in progress, over2000 particles (too many to count) with the drill atwork without the device, and 163 to 332 with thedevice attached. In the South African gold minesthe standard of safety adopted for dust concentrationis 300 particles per cubic centimetre of air. Thisdevice may confidently be expected to save manylives from silicosis, and to go far towards banishingfrom the rock-drill the insidious and terrible riskwhich has always been associated with its use.
IN DEFENCE OF THE TOOTH-BRUSH.
IN the Scalpel of July lOth Dr. F. Watry combatsthe indictment of the tooth-brush by Dr. M. Polet ina recent number of the Annales de l’Institut Chirurgicalde Bruxelles. Dr. Polet accused the tooth-brush ofbeing a cause of dental caries, gum trouble, andpyorrhoea, and would have us trust instead to thoroughmastication, fruits especially apples and fibrous rootsat the end of a meal, and rinsing of the mouth. Healso advocates the use of liquorice root as a substitutefor the tooth-brush. Dr. Watry claims, on the otherhand, that the tooth-brush is invaluable as a weaponof oral prophylaxis, and that the harm is done bybadly constructed tooth-brushes, generally dirty, andused in the wrong way. Very few people, he says,have such perfect mouths as to justify dispensingwith the tooth-brush. The brush should have a lighbimpermeable handle and the bristles should bearranged so that they will clean the dental inter-spaces and so that they can be readily cleaned anddisinfected by allowing water or disinfectant vapourto get between and around them. The brush shouldbe suited to the individual mouth and, if possible,chosen by a specialist. It should be disinfectedbefore its first use and cleaned and sterilised aftereach subsequent use. Boiling is not possible butformalin vapour may be used. Dr. Watry admitsthat among the masses one will have to be contentwith careful washing and keeping in a clean place.Before using the brush the mouth should bethoroughly rinsed and gargled. The brushing shouldbe vertical, from below upwards for the upper jaw,from above downwards for the lower jaw with anenergy suited to the tone of the tissues, so as not tocause bleeding. Thorough rinsing and garglingshould follow the brushing. It is a good plan to followthe brushing by the use of a thread to clear the inter-dental spaces. Some experts also recommendmassage of the gums with the fingers. These rulesdo not apply to mouths in a pathological or inflamma-tory condition, in which event medical advice shouldbe sought.
There is no reason to apprehend trouble owing tothe moving of the buccal flora from one part of themouth to another by a clean brush. The substitutionof liquorice root for the tooth-brush cannot be con-sidered an advance. Dr. Polet’s paper, says Dr.Watry, will serve a useful purpose by drawing-attention to the abuse and clumsy use of the tooth-brush. Dr. Watry reminds us that the InternationalDental Federation, under the presidency of Prof..
, Brophy, of Chicago, instituted more than a year ago. a thorough inquiry into the question of the tooth-i brush. The special committee appointed to conduct.. the investigation has not issued its final report but.
it made a provisional report to the Federation at the: Geneva meeting of 1925. The provisional reports’ confirms the value of the tooth-brush and attributes: the harm imputed to it to its wrong use or to the use’
of unsuitable brushes, and attaches great importance’ to the education of the public as to the proper con-,
struction and use of tooth-brushes. The committee: also proposes to go fully into the question of the.
alleged harm done by tooth-brushes, however small. it may be.
