Did you know that ….

Dentistry is one of the oldest medical professions, dating back as far as 7000 B.C. Texts with descriptions related to the treatment of teeth and gums have been found since the heyday of civilization along the Indus River. A Sumerian text dating from this period describes “tooth worms” as the cause of tooth decay, an idea that was not considered false until the 18th century!

In ancient Greece, Hippocrates and Aristotle also wrote about dentistry and methods of treating decayed teeth. Dentistry is known to have flourished in Ancient Egypt, and the Etruscan tribes were the first to use fixed dental bridges. They made dentures from human or animal bone and attached them to the mouth using thin gold wire.

The Roman writer Celsus included in his medical compendium detailed information on oral hygiene, stabilisation of wobbly teeth, sprouting of milk teeth, jaw fractures and more.
The most ancient evidence of a “filling” was discovered in 2012 in Slovenia – archaeologists uncovered the jaw of an adult individual who lived about 4,500 years ago, with a tooth cavity filled with beeswax.

In the Middle Ages, dentistry did not exist as a separate profession. Dental procedures were often carried out by barbers or general practitioners. The services of barbers were usually limited to the extraction of teeth, which relieved the patient’s pain and was associated with chronic dental infections.

It was not until 1530 that the first book devoted entirely to dentistry was published in Germany, the Little Medical Book for All Diseases and Defects of the Teeth. The author aimed to educate the public on topics such as oral hygiene, tooth extraction, placement of fillings, etc.

In 1683, the scientist Antoni van Leeuwenhoek was able to isolate and identify bacteria in the oral cavity using a microscope.

In the 18th century, dentistry became a clearly defined profession. In 1723, dentistry became an established profession. Pierre Fauchard, a French surgeon considered to be the father of modern dentistry, published his book “The Dental Surgeon”, which for the first time defined a comprehensive system of dental care and treatment. Fauchard was the first doctor to seriously address the symptomatology of oral pathology; he not only treated caries with professionalism, but also performed complex dental surgical interventions such as tooth restoration, orthodontic treatment, and more. Fauchard is considered a pioneer in the fabrication and placement of dental prostheses.

Bibliography:

http://blog.targethealth.com/?p=23802
http://www.namibiadent.com/the-history-of-dentistry.html