The pnia termed the toothache is
describee! by ft ale n as "the most cru
el of mortal pains," nnd yet how
small is its cause in its commence
ment. A simple spot of dark or red
dish brown, in its first stages easily
removed, and seeming unworthy
even that trouble, causes, if not ar
rested in its progress, unutterable
agony.
The toothache proper, then, aries
from a swelling of the nerve within
the bony substance of the tooth. This
is caused by the irritation of decay,
or by an inflammation, swelling, and
previous pressure of inflamed vessels
upon the nervous pulp, which occu
pies the central portion of the tooth.
Were the tooth split so as to a fiord
room for the expansion of the pulp,
the pain would cease.
Another cause is found in the in
flammation of the vacsular membrane
at the roots of the teeth. Uy the ex
traordinary sympathy between the
stomach and the teeth, an inflamma
tion, and extraordinary stimulus of
over distension, caused by improper
eatino- and drinkittf, infects the ves
sels of the teeth and gums, and is
sometimes known by the feeling that
the tooth is larger than ordinary.
