A case observed by the surgeon Juton and communicated by him to the author is also a very important one. The patient was suffering with a large abscess on the right side of the lower jaw, accompanied by such great swelling of the cheek that it was impossible to open the mouth wide enough to examine the teeth. Juton proposed opening the abscess immediately, but the patient would not consent. The following day he was sent for in great haste. The gathering had changed its seat, making its way between the skin and muscles of the neck, where it now formed so huge a tumefaction that the patient was in danger of being suffocated. The abscess was now immediately opened, but the swelling of the face still persisted; it was therefore only after a month had elapsed that it was possible to extract the root of the last molar, which had been the original cause of the whole malady. The surgeon observed that the liquid injected into the fistulous opening in the neck issued from the alveolus of the last molar. After the extraction of the root a prompt recovery was effected.[445] The second volume of Fauchard’s work is entirely devoted to operative dentistry and prosthesis. Before speaking of the modes of cleaning, filing, and stopping the teeth, the author combats the opinion maintained by some, that these operations are in part useless, in part also dangerous, as having the effect of loosening the teeth, of depriving them of their enamel, and ruining them. Fauchard then describes the instruments proper for detaching the tartar;[446] he speaks of the method to be followed in cleaning the teeth in order to not endanger the enamel;[447] he speaks of the different kinds of dental files, of their different uses in relation to the various cases and indications; of the precautions to be taken in making use of them;[448] of the instruments to be used for scraping and cleaning the carious cavities and of the mode of employing them.[449] All of the above-named instruments are illustrated by figures, in contemplating which one cannot but reflect on the inferiority of the instruments then in use as compared with those of the present day. The greater admiration is therefore due to Fauchard’s talent, which, in spite of such imperfect and at times absolutely primitive means, enabled him to obtain the brilliant results cited in his observations. [Illustration: FIG. 79 Instruments for detaching dental tartar (Fauchard).]