An Old History of the Dentist and their Practice

Dentistry goes back a long, long time. And many people have undergone various dental surgeries that occurred with whatever technology was around at the time. What remained different until the Enlightenment was that all societies of the world presented various tooth pains on one of three causes: devils, demons, omens, or other evil spirits. Treatments were more than likely first used by a clergyman or church authority before a dentist was called upon. Before science made its breakthrough with the Enlightenment Age, many people who suffered from tooth problems would have to visit the church first, much like pregnant women or lepers before seeing an actual medical doctor.

One of the first descriptions of the cause of dental ache and the prescription for its resulting pain is engraved on a product from Nineveh (That is the same town that Jonah frequented after he was ingested by that huge whale). The product, which is often described as the Tablet of the Tooth worm, was also a myth that was carried to the Middle East from China. According to Ancient Chinese folklore, the idea of a "tooth worm" was held for thousands of years before the modern dentist would understand bacteria and the cause of toothaches and decay.

This idea of viruses producing oral corrosion was recognized without concern for hundreds of years in European societies. Fauchard, the founder of the modern practice, did not efficiently understand it as a medical problem until around the early 1700s. Hesi-Re, understood in most Western and Middle Eastern societies as the first dentist, had a practice sometime around 3000 BC. Near the Red Sea, Hesi-Ri would clean and floss thousands of Egyptian teeth. Over time, many Egyptian practitioners would grow throughout northeast Africa and what is now understood as the Middle Eastern region. Today, it is Egypt and much of the Middle East that known as the birthplace of tooth care and the onset of modern dentistry.

Although many tooth problems were blamed on unfounded, unscientific claims, there were many technological innovations throughout the years that helped many a practitioner cure or resolve problems. Chewing sticks, knives, flosses from twin and tree stripping, razors and other forms of brushes were developed over the years to help many with tooth issues. Because teeth have been around as long as humans, the dentist and the virtues of his practice have as well. As a result, the practice and understanding for the need of tooth care has been around since the dawn of man.

Even Aristotle, the student of Plato, had studied teeth and introduced the need for extraction. He even theorized that such extraction could occur with forceps that were used in other medical areas. Because the need for dental care has been around for so long and shall continue as long as humans are around, advances in technology and medicine continue to evolve in the industry. As such, developments continue to be changed, built upon, and made more efficient over time.