It is a deplorable fact that notwithstanding the great advances made in the treatment of the various diseases of the oral cavity, occasionally a tooth is lost in spite of all the best endeavors of the stomatologist to prevent such a calamity. It is therefore very desirable that we should be able to replace such lost organs, and often by other means than plate or bridge-work. I need therefore make no apology for bringing before you the subject of planting teeth.
Since the introduction of the operation of implanttation, by Dr. Wm. J. Younger (1885) various substitutes for carrying artificial crowns—as lead capsules, porcelain teeth, double staples of metal reversed, etc., have been tried. The literature on the subject does not indicate any marked degree of success with any of the roots save natural ones.
As it is often a difficult matter to obtain a healthy root of a human