The manner of holding forceps is shown in figs. 8, 9, 10. The handles should rest comfortably in the palmar surface of the hand, and in such a manner that the end of one handle rests between the thenar and hypothenar eminences--a portion of the hand where force can be applied with advantage. The thumb placed between the handles acts as a regulator to control the amount of pressure of the blades upon the tooth. As a precaution it is well to have the ball of the thumb well between the handles, so that the pressure is counteracted not only by the soft tissues, but also by the terminal bony phalanx of the thumb. If this precaution be not observed, any sudden crushing of the tooth may be accompanied by a severe and very painful contusion of the operator’s thumb. [Illustration: FIG. 8. Mode of holding forceps for the removal of upper teeth.] _The Elevator_ consists of two parts--the handle and the blade. The former, usually made of wood or ivory, is about four inches in length and of a shape suitable to allow a firm grip being obtained of it by the hand. The blade is made of fine steel, and is about two inches long. Elevators are of two varieties, straight and curved. In the first form the blade is thin, about one-fifth of an inch in breadth, one surface being made convex and the other flat. The point of the blade may be rounded as shown in fig. 11, or spear-shaped, as shown in fig. 12. [Illustration: FIG. 9. Mode of holding lower “hawk’s bill” pattern forceps.] [Illustration: FIG. 10. Mode of holding forceps of pattern shown in fig. 30.] In the curved variety, the terminal half inch of the steel portion of the instrument is bent at an angle with the shaft of the instrument (fig. 49). The edge of the blade of an elevator should always be kept sharp. The method of holding an elevator is shown in fig. 13. The handle should rest comfortably in the palm of the hand, the first finger lying along the blade and being brought near the point so as to prevent the instrument slipping. When using the elevator for the removal of teeth on the right side of the mandible, the finger should lie along the curved side of the blade, and on the flat side when extracting teeth on the left side. [Illustration: FIG. 11.] _The Screw_ (fig. 14) is an instrument which on rare occasions is useful for the removal of deep seated roots. [Illustration: FIG. 12.] After being used, instruments of every kind should be freed from all foreign matter and then carefully sterilised.