Who is Pierre Fauchard?
by Monsieur Jean Claude de Vaux – It was between 1650 and 1800 that the science of modern dentistry developed. And in 1728 Pierre Fauchard, who was widely acknowledged as the “Father of Modern Dentistry” published “LeChirurgien Dentiste”( Lee Shee Roo Gee-Au- Don Teets) which contained detailed information about all aspects of contemporary dentistry. It was his lead that encouraged others, and for example, before the end of the century in England the distinguished surgeon, John Hunter, had published his book entitled”The Natural History of the Human Teeth”., and the first course of dental lectures was established at Guy’s Hospital in London…
Dental Filling Materials in the Confederacy
By Richard A. Glenner, DDS & P. Willey, PhD – The mid-1800s were innovative and volatile times, both in the development of the United States and in dentistry. The political and social manifestation of this unrest was the Civil War. The strides in the country’s dentistry are indicated by the founding of the first dental college, the first dental journal, and the first dental society during the two decades before the war.hronic pain control, e.g. psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, biofeedback, etc…
Titanic Medical Care: Second to None
By Richard A. Glenner, DDS; Alison G. Kassel, BBA; Laurel K. Graham, MLS – Numerous events have transformed the practice of operative dentistry into one that is more efficient and more comfortable for the patient as well as for the operating team, and, often, one that is more productive for the dental office than it was previously…
This article presents a narrative that traces these significant events along categorical lines and a chronology of events in the development of the art and science of operative dentistry…
Basil Manly Wilkerson
By John M. Hyson, jr., D.D.S., M.S. Audrey B. Davis, Ph.D. – Basil Manly Wilkerson (1842-1910) (Fig. 1), an 1868 graduate of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, was a prominent dental inventor of the 19th century. Among his inventions was the first hydraulic dental chair and one of the first air-driven turbine handpieces.
He was born in Foster’s Settlement, Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, on 28 March 1842. During the Civil War, he served from 1863-65 as a third sergeant in Company “K,” 8th Regiment (Hatch’s), Alabama Cavalry…
Giuseppangelo Fonzi
By Bernard Kurdvk – The use of porcelain in dental art dates back to the middle of the 18th century. An apothecary at Saint Germain-en-Laye by the name of Duchateau is the first to have been known to manufacture prostheses neither in bone nor in wood, but in imputrefiable materials. Then, Nicolas Dubois de Chémant, Parisian dentist and surgeon, modified the paste composition in porcelain and more useable results were obtained. A 15-year apprenticeship would follow before “dental fabrication and denture paste from incorruptible minerals without putrefaction” was made on September 16,1791. However these prostheses were manufactured from a single large piece, which, according to critics, hindered the denture’s adjustment at the base of the mouth…
Veterinary Dentistry
By Kevin Easley – The practice of dental medicine has evolved into a broad based and far reaching profession. The art of dentistry exists as a unique web woven of innovative research, technological advancement, and influence from other professions, trades and disciplines. As one segment of the web is strengthened, so is the whole. We can easily identify the benefit of this type of information flow when it travels in one direction to improve our profession directly… One example of this type of benefit can be seen in the growth and development of veterinary dentistry…
Augusto Coelho e Souza
By Elias Rosenthal, CD – Just as Hippocrates (480-370 BC) is considered the “Father of Medicine” and Pierre Fauchard (1678-1761) is regarded as the “Father of Modern Dentistry” so is Augusto Coelho e Souza (1863-1949) honored as the “Father of Brazilian Dentistry.”
On February 15, 1999 the 50th anniversary of the death of this most important oral surgeon of the century was observed. He was honored for the books he published, the courses he gave, the always up-to-date knowledge he imparted in many decades of lecturing, for the many articles he wrote defending the dental profession, and for his participation in many dental congresses, both at home and abroad…
Vida A. Latham, DDS, MD
by Hannelore T. Loevy & Aletha Kowitz – At the turn of the century, it was distinctly unusual for a woman to be active in both dentistry and medicine, but Chicago had such a woman. At the time, it was almost impossible for women to be admitted into a school of dentistry or medicine, yet Vida A. Latham managed to be accepted in both.
Vida Annette Latham came from her native England to the United States in order to continue her studies of dentistry and medicine. She was born in Manchester, England on November 11, 1866, daughter of John Latham and Mary Ann L. Whalley…
The Story of Dr. Charles Stent
by Malvin E. Ring, DDS, MLS, FACD – Stents have been used in numerous medical disciplines, as well as in oral surgical procedures. Uses range from rebuilding mandibles and constructing new ureters, to keeping coronary arteries patent after angioplasty. The earliest use of the word listent” to describe this item was in 1916, when a Dutch plastic surgeon described how he used a dental impression compound as a matrix around which to form tissue in the process of rebuilding a shattered face. What is generally unknown is that the word “stent” derives from the name of an English dentist, who invented this impression compound in 1856…
Connections Dentistry and Medicine
by Richard A. Glenner, D.D.S. – Ever since the early days of the dental profession in the United States, practicing dentists have recognized the relationship between dentistry and medicine.
In Colonial times, physicians lectured to medical students on dentistry. These men who had a knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and other subjects related to the practice of medicine, were the primary educators of dental practitioners in this country. This was in contrast to the apprenticeship training of many dentists. Dentistry had not yet reached the status of a profession. For the most part, it was considered a part of medicine, and as a result physicians extracted teeth and treated other dental problems…
The “Amex” Denture of World War I
by John M. Hyson, Jr. & Joseph W A. Whitehorne – In 1917-18, the U.S. Army revived a denture technique first introduced in 1866 by Dr. James Baxter Bean, the Confederate dental surgeon who established the first military maxillofacial hospital trauma ward in Atlanta, Georgia, during the American Civil War the cast aluminum wartime denture.
In the early spring of 1917, the standard removable Vulcanite denture barred voluntary enlistment in the U.S. Army on the basis that such dentures were a liability and subject to breakage. As a result, the Army began experimenting with aluminum as a substitute denture base…
Women in Dentistry
by Rosa Maria Gonzalez Ortiz, CD & Martha Diaz de Kuri, CD. – Regardless of the fact that females have been present in every field of universal knowledge, history bears little trace of this fact. This points to cultural patterns that favor the accomplishments of men over women. This paper reports in a schematic way, on the presence and significance of dental practice by women worldwide, and in particular in Mexico.
The role of women since prehistoric times that of taking care of the family would lead them to see illness and to seek remedies for it. Since oral problems were so common these were given a fair amount of attention. We can learn about medical practice for women in ancient civilizations from paintings and engravings as well as other art forms. Literature and ceramics have been very helpful in this respect…
The General Dentist – Early 1960’s
by Richard A. Glenner, D.D.S. – The early 1960’s were years of transition for the dentist practicing general dentistry That which began to occur at this time would have occurred about ten years earlier if it wasn’t for the Second World War. During this period, there were many advances made in science and technology, which helped win the war. In peacetime these would have been translated into progress to further private industry and scientifically oriented professions such as medicine and dentistry. After the war, many of the advances made were channeled into the private sector…
Man and Pain: Eternal Partners
By John M. Hyson, Jr., DDS, MS, MA – Morris (1991) divides pain into two categories – physical and mental; he calls it the “Myth of Two Pains.”25 He rationalizes that it is difficult to separate the pain of mind and body and that they are interdependent, e.g. one mind and body. However, this paper will limit itself to the history, philosophy, and psychology of physical pain (both acute and chronic) from ancient days to the twentieth century. It will not discuss mental or psychosomatic pain; nor will it include the anatomical, biochemical, pharmacological, and physiological aspects of modern methods of chronic pain control, e.g. psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, biofeedback, etc…
The History of Operative Dentistry
by Thomas M. Schulein, DDS, MS – Numerous events have transformed the practice of operative dentistry into one that is more efficient and more comfortable for the patient as well as for the operating team, and, often, one that is more productive for the dental office than it was previously.
A number of significant occurrences in the history of operative dentistry can be studied by grouping them into the categories of analgesia and anesthesia; etiology, diagnosis and treatment regimes; equipment and devices; direct restorative materials; indirect restorative materials and illumination and magnification…
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Professor Georges Villain
by Xavier RIAUD, DDS, FPFA – Georges Villain was a Professor of Prosthetic Dentistry at the beginning of WW1, and then became Director of the Center of Ambulatory Care for wartime facial injuries, created by the Dental School of Paris. As National Dental Federation Secretary his major task was to claim a special status and rank for the military dentists. In 1916 Villain organized the first Dental Interallied Meeting in Paris. In post-war years, his work being widely acknowledged in France and abroad, Professor Villain became National Dental Federation President then, in 1926, Director of the Dental School of Paris…
Leech Therapy
by John M. Hyson, DDS, MS, MA Baltimore MD – Bloodletting is an ancient procedure that was utilized for curing the ills of man. This article traces the use of leeches for bloodletting therapy from ancient Greek times to the Chapin Harris era in the 1840s to modern day usage by plastic surgeons. The leech is described as both a parasite and a therapeutic agent. The techniques used by both medicine and dentistry are historically documented.
The word “leech,” is a derivation of the AngloSaxon loece, meaning “to heal.” The physician was called a “leech” and his therapeutic book a “leechdom.” Actually, the leech is an: “aquatic worm with a flattened body, tapering toward each end, and terminating in circular flattened discs, the hinder one being the larger of the two…
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Dental Office Displays
by Dr. Samuel Wexler of Richmond, Illinois – Lake Geneva, Wisconsin – The Historical Society of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has just opened a new city museum which includes a 1920 dental office. The equipment belonged to a local dentist who graduated from Marquette Dental School in 1918…
Mesa, Arizona – Mesa is a fast growing community just east of Phoenix. The A.T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine of Kirksville, MO has decided to open the state’s first dental school…
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Pierre Fauchard and Obturators
by C. D. Lynch, C. T. MacGillycuddy and V. R. O’Sullivan – The design and fabrication of oral appliances to replace parts of the palate missing due to congenital defects or lost through tumours, infection or trauma has been a considerable challenge for clinicians throughout the history of dentistry. Significant advances were made during the eighteenth century towards resolving the problem of constructing satisfactory obturators by the first ‘surgeon-dentist’, Pierre Fauchard. This paper reviews his innovative designs…
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Argentinean Dentistry
by Orestes Walter Siutti, CD – The history of the legal practice of dentistry in the Rio de la Plata region is given. The first diplomas were given in 1891 by the Medical Tribunal, before the creation of the dental school in Buenos Aires. The inauguration of teaching courses and the different teaching plans, as well as the biography of the teachers who initiated the teaching in Argentina are presented as are the creation of the School of Dentistry and the appearance of the three schools of the College of Medical Sciences in the monumental new building. Portraits of the teachers Etcheparborda, Pereira, Erausquin and Guardo, crafters of the old school are presented, together with those of the administrators of the university complex and the College, Profs. Dr. Jose Arce and Ricardo C. Guardo…
St. Apollonia
by Ryan Donnelly, DDS –
Long before there was any dental profession, men and women who were experiencing dental pain would call upon St. Apollonia, the patron saint of dentistry, for relief, and recite a prayer similar to the relatively modern one above.
Although a clear line cannot always be drawn between theology and the health sciences, there have been relationships between these two disciplines in the past. As Andrew White (1898) noted, the relationship has not always been an amicable one. It was viewed by many as irreligious to seek methods of curing ailments by natural rather than spiritual means. It became the practice of religious leaders to classify men of science generally with sorcerers and magic mongers…