Principles and methods of orthodontics; an introductory study of the art for students and practitioners of dentistry - Tapa blanda

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 Excerpt: ...the uniform reply is Yes. Should postponement of treatment be desirable in a given case, the operator should be accorded the privilege of the decision. As to treatment, MacDowell1 has suggested a classification of cases into three groups, as follows: The possible: all cases between the ages of eight and fourteen. The probable: mesioclusions and distoclusions after the age of fourteen. The impossible: most cases beyond the age of sixteen. Skilful orthodontists regard this as a very conservative classification, because a wide experience enables them to considerably extend the age limit of each group. But the beginner will find it a valuable guide, it being the part of wisdom to err on the side of safety. 1 Orthodontia, xvii. CHAPTER VIII THE EVOLUTION OF METHODS METHODS OF THE PAST Scientific progress during the last half century has so altered our conceptions regarding the theory of life and the growth of society, that we are forced to re-write history and adapt it to the evolutionary philosophy (Pearson1). Present-day standards require history to be more than antiquarian; the real profit in tracing the development of an art must rest in something else than a mere knowledge of what has happened in chronological order; it must dwell in an understanding of the principles that have promoted the developments of the past, in the meaning of certain events. This advance in our conceptions is due to the epoch-making labors of Darwin, "who made all reasoning since his day follow his method." Now, in tracing the evolution of orthodontics the aim should be to view its development from the standpoint of this new and higher perspective. In no other division of its subject matter is this more desirable than in the methods of treatment. Not that the tracing of it...