A Comparison of Clinical, Roentgen, and Microscopical Findings in Fifteen Cases of Infected Vital Pulps

In axrecent paper2 I published the results of a bacterial investigation of infected vital dental pulps, and showed that chronic pulp infection is generally a streptococcus disease. I also emphasized the fact that the infected vital pulp is often the cause of somatic disease, and that its removal gives prompt relief of the systemic condition. Among the conclusions of the paper were these: "(1) All teeth that have been painful, or very sensitive to hot food, should be carefully investigated, because such teeth often have infected vital pulps. "(2) The fact that a tooth reacts positively to so-called vitality tests, or is sensitive when opened up, or painful when the pulp is exposed, does not prove that the pulp is not infected. "(3) A more careful study of the roentgen picture is necessary. If a large number of root-filled teeth, with or without infection, are present, they often distract attention from the small changes giving indirect roentgen evidence of an infected vital pulp." In Oral Roentgenology, the first edition of which was published in