With the school year fast approaching, let’s take a minute to learn about where modern day dentistry first started:

Ancient Dentistry

5000 BC – “Tooth worms” is described as the cause of decay in a Sumerian text.

166-201 AD – The Etruscans (ancient French and Italians) practice dental prosthetics such as gold crowns and fixed bridgework.

The Middle-Ages

700 AD – An ancient Chinese medical text mentions the use of an amalgam filling material referred to as “silver paste”.

1210 AD – The “Guild of Barbers” is established. These barbers could perform bloodletting, teeth pulling, and cupping therapy-in addition to cutting your hair and shaving facial hair. (YIKES)

18th Century

1723 – Pierre Fauchard (“The Father of Modern Dentistry”) publishes The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth (Le Chirurgien Dentiste). The 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.

1768-1770 – In the first known case of post-mortem dental forensics, Paul Revere identifies his friend’s body from a bridge he had constructed for him.

1790 – The first “dental drill” operated by foot pedal is created by John Greenwood out of his mother’s foot treadle spinning wheel.

19th Century

1825 – Commercially manufactured porcelain teeth hit the market

1864 – The rubber dam is invented, a device still used today to isolate the tooth from the oral cavity during procedures.

1866 – Dr. Lucy Beaman Hobbs becomes the first woman to earn a dental degree.

1869 – Dr. Robert Tanner Freeman becomes the first African-American to earn a dental degree.

1880 – Toothpaste is revolutionized with the invention of the collapsible metal tube. Previously, toothpaste was sold in liquid or powder form (made by dentists) and packaged in bottles, pots, or paper boxes.

1896 – Dr. C. Edmond Kells takes the first dental x-ray of a living person in the U.S.

20th Century

1905 – A German chemist formulates a local anesthetic and markets it under the name “novocaine”

1937 – Alvin Strock inserts the first Vitallium (biocompatible implant metal) dental screw implant.

1950 – The first fluoride toothpastes are marketed and become industry standard within 20 years.

1960 – Lasers are developed and approved for soft-tissue work.

1989 – The first commercial home tooth bleaching product is marketed.

Many, many more developments in materials and procedures have occurred since then and come to form dentistry as we know it today. Stop in to our friendly Coquitlam office and book your next cleaning and check up with Dr. Shahriary! Call Today (604) 936-1263