As revealed in my last column, my secret is out: I have benefitted enormously from the skill of my American dentist. We are all extremely lucky to have been born in the modern age when so much is known about the medicine of teeth and, following some interesting and engaging feedback from some of my readers, I thought I would expand on modern dentistry.
Like most physical ailments in ancient times, dental disease was seen to be a punishment by the gods, so priests made sacrifices and undertook other rituals to try to placate their gods and ask for healing. However, there are references as far back as 7000 BC to ‘tooth worms’ as a cause of tooth decay and terrifying tools related to extracting teeth have been found. The earliest case of dental filling probably took place somewhere around 3800 BC in Eastern Europe although the first person referred to as a dental practitioner was in the ancient Egyptian culture. Egyptians used a form of toothpaste over 5,000 years ago with a concoction of powdered ashes of hooves of oxen, myrrh (a yellow sap from the Commiphora tree), powdered and burned egg shells, and pumice.
In ancient China there is evidence of treating dental problems by boiling herbal plants and acupuncture. From 500-300 BC, ancient Greeks recorded dentistry practices including the plotting the eruption pattern of teeth, treating decayed teeth and gum disease, extracting teeth with forceps, and using wires to stabilize loose teeth and fractured jaws. From about 170 AD onwards, the Greeks began using gold crowns and fixed bridgework. The Arabians were the first society to recognize dentistry as a profession.
In Europe during the middle ages, people would turn to monks and priests for dental pain and they would perform crude surgery, probably because dental decay was still believed to have some sacred cause to it. At this time it was also thought that dogs teeth boiled in wine made an exceptional mouth rinse for preventing painful dental decay! In the 12th century, the church prohibited monks from performing any type of surgery including removing teeth, so barbers took over the business of tooth extraction. Highly unqualified barber surgeons undertook all sorts of low grade medical procedures as well as shaving customers. Do you know why a traditional barber pole is red, white and blue? Because barbers used scalpels and live leeches for letting blood (considered to be a remedy for most illness), and other basic tools, which were never sterilized, for their sideline of surgery, medical care and dentistry for many centuries from ancient times until the early 20th century. The look of the barber pole is linked to bloodletting, with red representing blood, white representing the bandages used to stem the bleeding and blue representing the color of the veins.
The first book dedicated to the practice of dentistry was published in Germany in 1530 and by the 1700s France was leading the way. A leading Parisian surgeon, Pierre Fauchard, has become known as the father of modern dentistry, although I am not keen on his recommendation to use one’s own urine to treat dental decay!
n the land of my birth, English dentistry did not advance as quickly and the guild (an association of professional or craftsman) that had united barbers and surgeons was dissolved in 1745. However, in 1771 English surgeon John Hunter, famed as the father of modern surgery, published The Natural History of the Human Teeth, and also pioneered the transplantation of teeth from one individual to another, sadly with little success.
Settlers from Europe established the beginnings of dentistry in the USA and by the early 19th century, the United States had become the leading center in the world for dental developments. In 1839 the first dental journal, the American Journal of Dental Science, was launched; in 1840 the first dental school, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, was established; and also, in 1840 the first national society of dentists, the American Society of Dental Surgeons was founded in New York City. Great new advances in the field came about very quickly at this time. In 1844 American dentist Horace Wells discovered the anesthetic properties of nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas”, which he promptly began using while performing tooth extractions. In 1864 vulcanized rubber was introduced as a substitute for costly gold dentures and in Europe porcelain teeth began to be used instead of teeth from corpses!!
In 1890 American dentist Willoughby Dayton Miller proposed the theory that dental cavities were the result of bacterial activity. Miller’s publication led to a tremendous wave of interest in oral hygiene.
Early homemade toothpaste ingredients included powdered fruit, burnt or ground shells, talc, honey and dried flowers. The first nylon bristled toothbrush with a plastic handle was invented in 1938. Natural bristles were the only source of bristles until Du Pont invented nylon. Although toothpicks have been used for centuries, dental floss came into common use only in the 20th century, and we have come a long way since then! I will leave you with a quote by early 17th Century Spanish author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes: “Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond” God bless America and modern dentistry!
Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www. lesleyfrancispr.com