Yep. According to several descriptions that I read about the "dental key" which was later replaced by dental forceps, the device was inserted into the patient's mouth horizontally, and the hook on the end was hooked onto the tooth to be extracted, then tightened down. Then the entire thing was twisted in the patient's mouth to extract the tooth. The problem was that it was causing unnecessary pressure on the adjacent teeth, causing those to crack, sometimes all the way to the root. Eff that. Give me a bottle of whiskey and a set of needlenoses. Ouch!
