ALUMINIUM AS A BASE FOR ARTIFICIAL TJffiTH. 
[Read before the Massachusetts Dental Society, Jan. 8th, 1866, by N. C. Keep, M.D., President, 
and communicated for the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.] 
Discovered by Wohler in 1828, aluminium was known only by name 
until the genius of Deville, aided by the patronage of the French Em- 
peror, overcame the obstacles which up to that time had proved insur- 
mountable, and presented to the world the pure metal in a form 
available for use. At first it was produced in small quantities and 
at very high cost. I well remember the first specimen which came 
across the Atlantic, which cost more than its weight in gold. 
The announcement of a new metal available for practical purposes 
made a great sensation throughout the civilized world. Every cabi- 
net wanted a specimen, and for a long time the whole production was 
absorbed for this purpose. Still there were forecastings as to the 
uses to which this metal might be applied, when by improved processes 
it should become abundant and comparatively cheap. I well remember 
my own high hopes that I might use it instead of gold, and my disap- 
pointment when I found I did not possess the knowledge of the pecu- 
liar laws by which it could be made into plates, <fcc., and after a 
moderate effort 1 laid aside my specimens. 
So far as 1 know, Dr. N. C. Fowler, of our own State, has the en- 
viable distinction of being the first by his perseverance to actually 
overcome these difficulties, and to him I am indebted for the metal 
in a ductile form and the plan of using it without solder. In his 
process all the different parts are united by rubber, which has first been 
combined with comminuted aluminium. With this material all va- 
cancies are obviated, desirable forms made, and the unity of the 
piece secured. When vulcanized and polished, it has a metallic lus- 
tre and an approximate resemblance to the metallic plate. The use 
of aluminium by jewellers, and their appreciation of its value, are 
sufficiently well known. 
The advantages of aluminium in dentistry are:— 
1st. It is sufficiently strong and unyielding (having almost no elas- 
ticity) to meet all the forces which it may be legitimately called upon 
to resist. 
2d. Its very low specific gravity, 2*50, only 2J times heavier than 
water, enables the dentist to offer to his invalid patient a lighter set of 
teeth than by any other material now in use for base. 
3d. Aluminium is not discolored by sulphuretted hydrogen, and is 
not acted upon by any acids which are likely to be found in the 
mouth, or by any of the secretions of the mouth, and does not dis- 
color in use. 
4th. Aluminium is a pure metal. All alloys are to some extent 
subject to galvanic action. It is well known that while gold plates 2 
were generally used, intelligent and conscientious dentists made their 
gold plates not less than three fourths pure gold and one fourth alloy, 
and would have used pure gold had it not been too soft for plates. 
Ignorant and unscrupulous dentists often used a much larger per cent, 
of alloy, to the great discomfort of the wearer. Aluminium for 
plates should be pure; there is no excuse for introducing any alloy. 
They will thus be entirely free from the galvanic action incident to 
alloys. 
5th. Aluminium is entirely innocuous. Neither the metal nor its 
salts can become poisonous. Plates of aluminium are easily brushed 
and kept free from foreign accumulations. 
6th. They have the advantage over rubber in being strong and 
thin, taking up very little room in the mouth. Being thin, they do 
not give the impression of heat, which troubles some persons very 
much. 
7th. By using aluminium we avoid the bi-sulphuret of mercury, 
which, though not a very soluble article, has excited solicitude in 
many minds; and as it constitutes about one half of the weight of 
“ red rubber ” we would shun even the appearance of evil and let it 
alone. 
In conclusion, we may congratulate the public that a new article is pre- 
sented for their choice in artificial dentistry that fills more of the condi- 
tions desirable than any other at present or heretofore in use; and 
we confidently expect that those who have suffered from the weight of 
their artificial teeth, or from the galvanic action of mixed metals, or the 
yielding of elastic materials, or from uncomfortable thickness of rub- 
ber, or from the fear of injury by reason of the poisonous coloring 
matter used in red rubber, or from the sensation of heat occasioned 
by the rubber, which as now used is a bad conductor of caloric, or 
those who may desire a more artistic, highly-finished, easily cleansed, 
agreeable and comfortable substitute, will have occasion to thank M. 
Deville for producing aluminium in available quantity, and Dr. Fow- 
ler for his successful perseverance in bringing it into practical use for 
dental purposes. 
To the dentist who should ask whether he had better abandon all 
other articles and attach himself to this only as a base for artificial 
teeth, I would say, this is not adapted to “ cheap dentistry.” In the 
first place, the use of aluminium for dental purposes is patented, and 
we have no reason to think this patent “ unjust or illegal.” Then the 
labor and skill in working being much greater than is now generally 
bestowed on “ rubber work,” if you are contented and your patients 
are satisfied, these improvements will do you no good. But to the 
lover of progress, aiming at perfection, and to those who do not 
shrink from labor for the best “ substitutes ” which can be produced, 
I cordially recommend a trial of aluminium. 
74= 130YLST0N 8TREET, BOSTON.