As long as tooth decay has been around, there have been people who seek to relieve our pain and correct dental problems, but where does the modern dental approach arise from? After all, medicine had a long and winding path of charlatans and poison before arriving at the current, evidence-based model. Likewise, early dentistry was plagued by Tooth-Drawers, who used accomplices and sleight-of-hand to convince potential patients that the treatment would be swift and painless, especially if the patient bought the Tooth-Drawer's potion. Treatment was likely to be neither, and a trail of fractured jaws, hemorrhages, and poisonings followed Tooth-Drawers from village to village. By the late 1500s, professors of medicine were going so far as to caution their students away from practicing dentistry for fear of being associated with the dental practitioners of the time.

So who rescued dentistry from the hands of con men and made it the trusted and ubiquitous profession it is today? Well, unlike medicine, which was contributed to from many sources, dentistry can be traced nearly exactly to the work of one man.

Historians argue that Pierre Fauchard, a Frenchman living in the early 1700s was father of modern dentistry. He was among the first "surgeon dentists" who treated damaged or decayed teeth rather than simply extracting them as most preferred to at the time, and made extensive notes on corrective procedures, surgical techniques, and the causes of dental decay. Perhaps unusually for a medical professional at the time, Fauchard did not come from a wealthy family, and his surname is likely a nickname, as it refers to a medieval polearm rather than a family line.

Fauchard's interest in dentistry probably arose in the French Royal Navy, where he encountered firsthand the oral effects of the disease scurvy, and began formulating his theories on dentistry. After a three-year tour, he set up a practice at the University of Angers Hospital. Fauchard soon became a highly skilled surgeon. Dissatisfied with the tools available to him, he adapted new instruments from other trades such as watch making, jewelry and enameling. He conducted microscopic research on the causes of tooth decay, concluding that tartaric acid from sugar was a more likely culprit than the "tooth worms" posited by dentists of the time. Fauchard developed his own dental drill, and started filling cavities with gold, silver and lead after drilling out decay.

Perhaps Fauchard's greatest work was undertaken after he moved to Paris. He noticed many libraries were devoid of textbooks on dentistry, and authored a textbook himself after interviewing hundreds of dentists across the city. Included in the book were detailed diagrams of corrective dental braces, instructions on how to fabricate and fix prosthetic teeth carved from blocks of ivory, and many more of his inventions and observations. The two-volume book totaled more than 800 pages and is credited as being the foundation of modern dental methods.

Sources:

Fauchard, Pierre. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v201/n12/full/4814350a.html

No. 2875: PIERRE FAUCHARD. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2875.htm

The Excruciating History of Dentistry. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2016, from https://books.google.com/books?id=ek7ABQAAQBAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=historic dental charlatans&source=bl&ots=A0dJhhOfJ6&sig=XbkYGqdh9U1-RqjzO7blWv-_xYM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigpdHU4aTKAhVM8GMKHemGD7UQ6AEILDAD#v=onepage&q=historic dental charlatans&f=fa

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The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation. Regulations regarding sedation vary by state. This is an educational and informational piece. DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient's use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein. DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 106 Lenora Street, Seattle, WA 98121. Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request.

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The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor, should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation. Regulations regarding sedation vary by state. This is an educational and informational piece. DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient's use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein. DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 3250 Airport Way S, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98134. Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request.
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