Interesting Facts About The History Of Dentistry

 FACTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DENTISTRY

Before the agricultural revolution, tooth decay was very low. But 10,000 years ago spurred the growth of farming society, an event that correlated with an increase in cavities. There is evidence of dentistry as far back as 7000 BC in the Indus Valley Civilization, a Bronze Age civilisation that was in what is now northeast Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwest India.

Their form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills, a reliable and effective practice that we use in another form today. It is dated back 6500 years. From a Sumerian text in 5000 BC up until the 14^th century AD, people all over Asia, Europe and Africa believed that tooth worms caused tooth decay.

Tooth decay was low in pre-agricultural societies, but the advent of farming society about 10,000 years ago correlated with an increase in tooth decay (cavities). 
An infected tooth from Italy partially cleaned with flint tools, between 13,820 and 14,160 years old, represents the oldest known dentistry, although a 2017 study suggests that 130,000 years ago the Neanderthals already used rudimentary dentistry tools.

The Indus valley has yielded evidence of dentistry being practised as far back as 7000 BC, during the Stone Age. The Neolithic site of Mehrgarh (now in Pakistan's south western province of Balochistan ) indicates that this form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead-crafters.

 The reconstruction of this ancient form of dentistry showed that the methods used were reliable and effective. The earliest dental filling, made of beeswax, was discovered in Slovenia and dates from 6500 years ago. Dentistry was practised in prehistoric Malta, as evidenced by a skull which had an abscess lanced from the root of a tooth dating back to around 2500 BC.

An ancient Sumerian text describes a "tooth worm" as the cause of dental caries. Evidence of this belief has also been found in ancient India, Egypt, Japan, and China. The legend of the worm is also found in the Homeric Hymns, and as late as the 14th century AD the surgeon Guy de Chauliac still promoted the belief that worms cause tooth decay.

Recipes for the treatment of toothache, infections and loose teeth are spread throughout the Ebers Papyrus, Kahun Papyri, Brugsch Papyrus, and Hearst papyrus of Ancient Egypt. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, written in the 17th century BC but which may reflect previous manuscripts from as early as 3000 BC, discusses the treatment of dislocated or fractured jaws.

The Biblical history of tooth extraction for punishment of offences in Exodus 21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, dates back to the 13th century with other references in Leviticus 24:19-20, Proverbs 25:19, Matthew 5:38-48.

In the 18th century BC, the Code of Hammurabi referenced dental extraction twice as it related to punishment.
Examination of the remains of some ancient Egyptians and Greco-Romans reveals early attempts at dental prosthetics. However, it is possible the prosthetics were prepared after death for aesthetic reasons.

Ancient Greek scholars Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about dentistry, including 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. Some say the first use of dental appliances or bridges comes from the Etruscans from as early as 700 BC.

In ancient Egypt, Hesy-Ra is the first named "dentist" (greatest of the teeth). The Egyptians bound replacement teeth together with gold wire. Roman medical writer Cornelius Celsus wrote extensively of oral diseases as well as dental treatments such as narcotic-containing emollients and astringents. 

 

The earliest dental amalgams were first documented in a Tang Dynasty medical text written by the Chinese physician Su Kung in 659, and appeared in Germany in 1528.

During the Islamic Golden Age Dentistry was discussed in several famous books of medicine such as The Canon in medicine written by Avicenna and Al-Tasreef by Al-Zahrawi who is considered the greatest surgeon of the Middle ages.

Avicenna said that jaw fracture should be reduced according to the occlusal guidance of the teeth; this principle is still valid in modern times. while Al-Zahrawi made a lot of surgical tools that resemble the modern tools.
Historically, dental extractions have been used to treat a variety of illnesses. 

During the Middle Ages and throughout the 19th century, dentistry was not a profession in itself, and often dental procedures were performed by barbers or general physicians. Barbers usually limited their practice to extracting teeth which alleviated pain and associated chronic tooth infection. 

Instruments used for dental extractions date back several centuries. In the 14th century, Guy de Chauliac most probably invented the dental pelican (resembling a pelican's beak) which was used to perform dental extractions up until the late 18th century. The pelican was replaced by the dental key which, in turn, was replaced by modern forceps in the 19th century.

Dental needle-nose pliers designed by Fauchard in the late 17th century to use in prosthodontics

The first book focused solely on dentistry was the "Artzney Buchlein" in 1530, and the first dental textbook written in English was called "Operator for the Teeth" by Charles Allen in 1685.

In the United Kingdom, there was no 

formal qualification for the providers of dental treatment until 1859 and it was only in 1921 that the practice of dentistry was limited to those who were professionally qualified. The Royal Commission on the National Health Service in 1979 reported that there were then more than twice as many registered dentists per 10,000 population in the UK than there were in 1921.

SUGGESTED READINGS
"Oldest Dentistry Found in 14,000-Year-Old Tooth". Discovery Channel. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
"Analysis of Neanderthal teeth marks uncovers evidence of prehistoric dentistry". The University of Kansas. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
Coppa, A. et al. 2006. "Early Neolithic tradition of dentistry" (PDF). Nature. Volume 440. 6 April 2006.
NBC News (2008). Dig uncovers ancient roots of dentistry.
Bernardini, Federico; Tuniz, Claudio; Coppa, Alfredo; Mancini, Lucia; Dreossi, Diego; Eichert, Diane; Turco, Gianluca; Biasotto, Matteo; Terrasi, Filippo; De Cesare, Nicola; Hua, Quan; Levchenko, Vladimir (2012).
"Beeswax as Dental Filling on a Neolithic Human Tooth". PLOS ONE. 7 (9): e44904. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...744904B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044904. PMC 3446997. PMID 23028670.
"700 years added to Malta's history". Times of Malta. 16 March 2018. Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2018.

"History of Dentistry: Biblical text and references."
"History of Dentistry: Ancient Origins". American Dental Association. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2007.
TOWNEND, B. R. (1944). "The Story of the Tooth-Worm". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 15 (1): 37–58. ISSN 0007-5140. JSTOR 44442797.
Suddick Richard P., Harris Norman O. (1990). "Historical Perspectives of Oral Biology: A Series" (PDF). Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine. 1 (2): 135–51. doi:10.1177/10454411900010020301. PMID 2129621. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2007.
Blomstedt, P. (2013). "Dental surgery in ancient Egypt". Journal of the History of Dentistry. 61 (3): 129–42. PMID 24665522.
Ancient Egyptian Dentistry, hosted on the University of Oklahoma website. Page accessed 15 December 2007. Version archived by the Wayback Machine on 26 December 2007.
Wilwerding, Terry. "History of Dentistry 2001" (PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
"Medicine in Ancient Egypt 3". Arabworldbooks.com. Retrieved 18 April2010.
"History Of Dentistry". Complete Dental Guide. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
"History of Dentistry Research Page, Newsletter". Rcpsg.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 9 June2014.
History of Dentisty-
by "Famous People website". Brief history by "co.burgdentalgroup". History of Dentistry by "drsilmansmilespa.com". Brief history of Dentisty- by "Britannica".