non-cohesive gold foil, No. 6; upon this place a sheet of No. 4;
upon this place a sheet of White's globe tin foil, No. 4; upon this
another sheet of Abbey's non-cohesive gold, No. 4; upon this a sheet of
No. 6. Cut into five strips and crimp; the crimped strips are cut into
pieces a little longer than the depth of the cavity to be filled; some
of the strips are rolled into cylinders, others are left open, because
easier to use in starting a filling. The color of this combination is
slightly less yellow than pure gold, and hardens just as rapidly as when
the proportions are one to one, but does not become quite as hard. This
preparation is non-cohesive, and should be inserted by the wedge
process. I use it in the grinding surface of molars and bicuspids,
buccal cavities in molars and bicuspids, cervical fissure pits in
superior incisors, proximal cavities in bicuspids and molars. If
proximal cavities are opened from the occlusal surface, the last portion
of the filling should be of cohesive gold to withstand mastication. In
simple cavities I place as many pieces as can be easily introduced,
using my pliers as the wedging instrument to make room for the last
pieces, and then condense the whole. If the cavity is too deep for this,
I use Fletcher's artificial dentin as a base, because it partly fills
the cavity and the ends of the cylinders stick to it. After an
approximal cavity is prepared, use a matrix held in place by wooden
wedges; the cylinders are about one-eighth of an inch long, and
condensed in two or three layers so as to secure perfect adaptation;
hand pressure is principally used, but a few firm strokes with a hand
mallet are useful. When ready to add the cohesive gold for the
grinding-surface, a few pieces of White's crystal mat gold should first
be used, because it adheres beautifully; thus a perfect union is
secured, but I never risk adding the gold without leaving a little
undercut for it in the tooth. By this method we obtain a beautiful
contour filling in a short time. Fillings should be burnished and then
polished with a fine strip, or moistened pumice on a linen tape. Where
cohesive gold is used for the entire filling, in many cases the
enamel-walls, already thin near the cervical margin, are made thinner by
the unavoidable friction of the polishing strips, but tin and gold is so
soft that a good surface is obtained in a few moments, and this danger
is reduced to a minimum. The surface is as smooth as a