DR. TAFT:—I must say that I do not have a great many cases of congested pulp, but where I do have one which has been exposed for some length of time, and has given pain, I first apply local treatment, using something of the nature of oil of cloves, then fill the cavity with cotton and let it go for a few days. I had a case about three weeks ago of a tooth that I had filled, a year ago, with gutta-percha. At the time the tooth was filled I was unable to decide whether there was an exposure or not. The tooth had been previously filled by a well-known Boston dentist with gutta-percha, and was very sensitive to excavating. The cavity extended far up under the gum, and I refilled it with gutta-percha and it kept quiet for about a year. Three weeks ago the lady came to me, complaining of great pain. I took the gutta-percha out, and upon re-excavating I exposed the pulp and found it alive. It had been troubling her then for about a week. I thought at first I would try to save it, and began treatment by putting a pledget of cotton, dipped in oil of cloves, into the cavity, sealing it up temporarily with gutta-percha, and applying the little capsicum plasters to the gum, hoping to reduce the inflammation in that way, but after working over it a week I destroyed it. I think congestion of the pulp can be reduced by internal treatment much better than by any local treatment, and if we were physicians and had the knowledge of materia medica that we should have under those conditions, I think we would find it possible to easily and quickly get rid of the inflammation and bring the pulp around to a healthy condition, so that it could then be successfully capped, provided there had been no suppuration. When it has reached that stage, the only thing to be done, in my opinion, is to apply arsenious acid and destroy it.