Dentistry
the art of preserving, repairing, and, in need, of extracting teeth. So far as the history of dentistry can be traced, it appears to have originated among the Hindus or Egyptians. At least the teeth of Egyptian mummies are as old as any in which evidences of dentistry can be found. Artificial teeth fastened to adjacent teeth by gold bands are found in the tombs of the early Etruscans who preceded the Romans. European museums possess specimens of Phoenician teeth bound together with gold wire, Etruscan bridge work and gold teeth, and Roman plate work. A collection at Florence includes a skull having incisors bound with a gold band, dating, it is thought, from the fifth century B. C.
The treatment of toothache was formerly a part of the surgeon-barber's office. The making and filling of teeth was a part of the business of the goldsmith. The modern dentist is a specialist who has taken the care and treatment of the teeth out of the hands of the surgeon and the goldsmith. The credit is due France.
The first scientific work on the subject was written by Pierre Fanchard, who is styled the father of dentistry. It appeared in France in 1728. A skilled dentist accompanied the French soldiers under Count Rochambeau who were quartered in Rhode Island during the winter of 1781-2. In those days a knowledge of dentistry was to be gained from a dentist only. There were no schools of dentistry. This French dentist, Lemaire, taught a young American officer and a young surgeon who, after the close of our Revolutionary War, became eminent in practice.
Modern dentistry has developed notably on American soil. A local association of dental surgeons met in New York in 1787, and a national organization met in the same city in 1840. In 1839 the first dental journal in the world was published in New York, and in 1840 the first dental college of the world was opened in Baltimore. From this date onward America has claimed the lead in dentistry, and, in this one branch of medical science, American leadership is very generally admitted. The term "American dentist" is used as a mark of superiority in European cities, ranking with "American tailor" "American apples," and "American shoes" in point of signboard superiority. This reputation is due, however, less to scholarship than to the deftness and ingenuity of the American operator.
Among the later triumphs of dentistry several may be mentioned. Instead of confining repairing to plugging cavities, any portion of a tooth is rebuilt to its original shape. During the work rubber cofferdams are placed around a tooth to keep out moisture. Cavities are cleared out with whirling drills driven by means of electricity or by a treadle. An electro magnetic mallet is used to drive gold foil into place with rapid blows. It works on the same principles of attraction and release as an electric bell.
Readymade porcelain teeth of all sizes and shapes are now turned out in factories. to imitate natural teeth very closely. Crown work is a name given to a tooth fastened to sound, natural roots either by metallic dowels and cement, or by the latter reinforced by a gold collar encircling the upper end of the root and the lower end of the crown.
In making a set of false teeth the dentist works from an impression of the gums taken with a plastic material consisting usually of plaster of paris, beeswax, or other similar material.
Modern dentistry is giving attention not only to repairs but to an investigation of the causes of decay. There are nearly 30,000 dentists in the United States and some sixty schools of dentistry. One New York factory makes 8,000,000 porcelain teeth in a year. Teeth valued at over $500,000 are annually exported. Sixteen hundred pounds of fine gold go into American teeth every year.