Teeth

• Image courtesy of the University of Michigan Dentistry Library

Having my wisdom teeth removed is a procedure I’ve been putting off for, well, years at this point. So when my jaw started aching this week I didn’t pick up the phone to make an appointment with the oral surgeon. I got online and looked up the history of dental books.

One of the first things I found was a great Flickr collection by rosefirerising from the University of Michigan Dentistry Library.   Tons of stuff, including books, journal articles, anatomical illustrations, cartoons, ephemera and antique dental instruments.  Some of my favorite pictures are in the set called “Dentistry – Women and Children First.”  The one above is fantastic; who knew teeth wore tiny boots. 

• Image courtesy of the University of Michigan Dentistry Library

Additionally, the American and British Dental Associations have history websites that list major works on dentistry.  I’ve compiled some of the most interesting below.

 - Artzney Buchlein (Little Medicinal Book for all Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth,) the first book “devoted entirely to dentistry,” was published in Germany in 1530.  Image courtesy of the University of Michigan Dentistry Library.

 - Libellus de dentibus (A Little Treatise on the Teeth) by Bartholomew Eusttachius, was published in 1563.

Eustachio’s contributions to the development of dental science were substantial. In addition to the many conceptual advances concerning tooth development and function, based on anatomical dissections, he also presented more detailed plates of the musculature of the face, floor of the mouth and neck as well as detailed plates of the tongue and of the crown and roots of the teeth. – Dental Classics in Perspective, Volume 2, 1999

 - “1575—In France Ambrose Pare, known as the Father of Surgery, publishes his Complete Works. This includes practical information about dentistry such as tooth extraction and the treatment of tooth decay and jaw fractures,” (ADA).

 - The first dental book in English, The Operator for the Teeth by Charles Allen, was published in 1685.

 - In 1723 French surgeon Pierre Fauchard published Le Chirurgien Dentiste (The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth).

Fauchard is credited as being the Father of Modern Dentistry because his book was the first to describe a comprehensive system for the practice of dentistry including basic oral anatomy and function, operative and restorative techniques, and denture construction (ADA).

 - The Natural History of the Human Teeth was published by John Hunter in 1771, followed by A Practical Treatise on Diseases of the Teeth in 1778.

These works revolutionised the practice of dentistry and provided a basis for later dental research. The natural history of human teeth is a detailed study of the mouth, jaws and teeth. Its plates are exceptionally clear and accurate (King’s College London, ISS).

 - In 1890 Willoughby Miller publishes Micro-Organisms of the Human Mouth, utilizing the germ theory to explain tooth decay. “This generates an unprecedented interest in oral hygiene and starts a world-wide movement to promote regular toothbrushing and flossing,” (ADA).  The picture below is the Human Mouth as a Focus of Infection, Plate 3, courtesy of the University of Michigan Dentistry Library.

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