The history of dentistry

A profession that is ignorant of its past experiences has lost a valuable asset because “it has missed its best guide to the future.” 

B.W. Weinberger Dentistry: An Illustrated History 

(Mosby, 1995)

Ancient  Dentistry

The Indus Valley Civilization has yielded evidence of dentistry being practised as far back as 7000 BC.

Earliest form of dentistry involved curing tooth related disorders with bow drills operated, perhaps, by skilled bead craftsmen.In what could be one of the earliest examples of dentistry.Scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia in the United States have found tiny, perfectly rounded holes in teeth found in Mehrgarh in pre-historic Pakistan, which they suspect were drilled to repair tooth decay.Researcher Andrea Cucina, who first discovered the tiny holes, reveals that they didn't appear to be a funeral rite and the teeth were still in the jaw so they had not been drilled to make a necklace. He and his colleagues suspect the holes were a treatment for tooth decay and that plants or another substance had been inserted into the holes to prevent bacterial growth.

The earliest dental filling, made of beeswax, was discovered in Slovenia and dates from 6500 years ago.

The first and most enduring explanation for what causes tooth decay was the tooth worm, first noted by the Sumerians around 5000 BC. The hypothesis was that tooth decay was the result of a tooth worm boring into and decimating the teeth.The idea of the tooth worm has been found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers and poets, as well as those of the ancient Indian, Japanese, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures. It endured as late as the 1300s, when French surgeon Guy de Chauliac promoted it as the cause of tooth decay.

Examination of the remains of some ancient Egyptians and Greco-Romans reveals early attempts at dental prosthetics and surgery.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.