The history of dentistry can be traced back as far as the history of people on the earth. Since early primitive times, mankind has been treating their teeth in whatever ways they knew how. But formal dentistry is often traced back to the early 1500s when a book was published in Germany to teach surgeons how to extract teeth, drill teeth, and install gold fillings.
Two centuries later a French doctor, Pierre Fauchard, published the book called The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth (Le Chirurgien Dentiste). That was the first thorough book to address the practice of dentistry. Dr. Fauchard is considered by most historians to be the father of modern dentistry. Soon dentistry became more or less established as a profession across Europe. Just a few years after the founding of the United States as a new nation, an English dentist named John Baker migrated to America to set up the first-ever dental practice in the US. It is even believed that silversmith and militia member Paul Revere worked as a dentist in Boston, where he would fill patients’ cavities with the same kind of silver that he used to make his famous bowls and other household utensils.
By the 1800s, dental books were being written and published by dentists across the USA. Inventors came up with two important dental products that drastically changed the profession. These inventions were porcelain teeth and the specially designed and engineered reclining dentist chair.
America is full of firsts in dentistry. The first dental profession journal in the world - The American Journal of Dental Science - was established in the US. Baltimore, Maryland is home to the first dental college in the world. Alabama became the first state in the union to set up a state board of dentistry to regulate the profession. By 1860 there was a professional association - the American Dental Association - that still presides over dentistry in the USA.
Many strides have been made in dental education. In 1866, the first woman to become a licensed dentist in the USA - Lucy Hobbs - graduated from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery and began practicing her trade. Around the same time, Harvard opened the first dental school affiliated with a major university. Before 1870, it had graduated the first African-American man to earn a dental degree.
With nearly 30 full-fledged dental schools going strong before the 1890s, dentistry got another boost when the toothpaste tube was invented, making it much easier to dispense toothpaste and making dry tooth powders more or less obsolete. Another first happened in 1890 when a woman named Ida Gray, who was a graduate of the University of Michigan's School of Dentistry, became the first African American female dentist. The same year an American dentist published a revolutionary new book called Micro-Organisms of the Human Mouth. This book helped to explain the bacterial causes of tooth decay and gum disease. As a result of this book, people began taking tooth brushing and dental flossing much more seriously, and those dental hygiene habits became more common and widespread. Perhaps just as significant was the invention of X-ray equipment for dental X-rays in the late 1890s.
In the 20th century, novocaine painkiller was invented, the process of casting fillings and false teeth came into existence, and the first school dedicated to the study of oral hygiene was started. Graduates began to create organized programs to teach young children about dental hygiene. By the mid-1900s dental implants were in use and public water was fluoridated. Then in the last half of the century, high-speed drills were introduced, as were electric toothbrushes, home tooth whiteners, and advanced resin and polymer tooth fillings. As the 21st century neared, the FDA approved lasers for dental surgery. Now we even have computerized digital X-ray machines, as well as in-office computer-guided robotic machines to make replacement teeth and crowns.
Dentistry has come a long way over time.With advanced toothpaste formulas and at home treatments, people can have better looking and working smiles. Now it’s easier than ever to maintain and restore health!
