Capsules

> Replacing lost teeth is a tricky business at best. Fastening a false tooth to its "virgin" neighbors may undermine those adjacent teeth. Using anchors of stainless steel or vitallium to implant the replacement often causes infection or deterioration of the jawbone. A promising new technique developed by the University of Southern California school of dentistry and the Vitredent Corp. of Los Angeles seems likely to overcome both problems. The empty socket is filled with a root replacement of vitreous carbon; then the false tooth is fastened to this foundation. Carbon, the base of all living matter, is compatible with human tissue and causes no rejection, nor does it break down under the pressures of chewing. U.S.C.

dentists have performed 250 implants in the past three years. More than 90% were successful.

>Perforated eardrum membranes are usually repaired by sophisticated surgical techniques. But Dr. Eugene Derlacki, an ear surgeon at Northwestern University's medical school believes a simpler procedure may be just as effective. He first applies trichloroacetic acid to the edges of the perforation to irritate them, thus beginning the healing process. Then through the perforation, he blows antibiotic powders into the ear canal behind the eardrum to prevent infection. Finally, he presses a thin antiseptic-soaked gauze patch against the eardrum and sends the patient home with instructions to put antiseptic drops into his ear twice daily. The cotton patch, which is replaced at two-week intervals, prevents the formation of a scab over the hole in the membrane, but allows new tissue to grow. Of the 1,408 patients Derlacki has treated by this procedure over a 26-year period, 1,106 healed without complications, most in one to three months.

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