Austin Dental
From TechHelp
Austin Dental Center PC 2304 Hancock Dr. Suite 1 Austin, TX 78756-2537 (512) 454-0414
For as long as people have been walking the earth, there have been cases of toothache. So, what did the generations past do when emergency dentists weren’t around to save them?
The Early Years
The earliest dentists of the world were actually priests. Toothaches, long misunderstood, were often considered to be the source of demons entering the body. Thus, prayer was considered the appropriate method of treatment. However, there are accounts of a man named Hesi-Re in Ancient Egypt. On the inner wall of a burial chamber was a phrase that was decoded and named Hesi-Re as the ‘Chief Toother.’
It was the Ancient Chinese that questioned this concept and developed a new reasoning. From that point forward, Western Civilizations would accept the belief that dental worms were responsible for tooth pain.
Written accounts of a ‘chewstick’ being used for the purpose of cleaning teeth were found among Ancient Roman remains. The thin stick, examples of which have been unearthed, was chewed at one end until the thin fibers frayed. With these, the individuals could scrub the sides and tops of the teeth.
Middle Ages Oral Health
The education received by the monks during the time of the middle ages far trumped what any member of the general public received. Thus, these religious individuals became the experts on dental matters, among many other issues. In the earliest days of this period monks would perform surgeries if necessary. Included on the list of the very few practices was tooth extraction. One might imagine that this process was much less sophisticated than it is today. The instruments used for these procedures were often the same as those used to shave the hair form the heads of the make-shift surgeons. On the days that barbers visited the monasteries, they would often assist. When law forbade monks from continuing this practice, it only made since that the assistants would become the new specialists.
It wasn’t just the barbers who brought relief to those suffering with dental pain. A new brand of entertainment also sprung up during this time. Street performers included a long list of talents individuals, but perhaps the most entertaining were the tooth-drawers. Standing before a large crowd of people, the performer would yank the tooth of any man or woman willing to come forward.
The concept of dental worms and visits to the barber dentists continued until Pierre Fauchard stepped forward in 1728, publishing his work, entitled Le Chirurgien Dentiste. As it is translated in English, The Surgeon Dentist, this manuscript deeply explored a modern take of dentistry including proper methods of operation and extraction, prosthetics, and even orthodontics. Frauchard was far ahead of his time and would later be nicknamed the Father of Modern Dentistry. About thirty years later, a man called John Baker would use much of what he learned from the manuscript to perform duties as the first American dentist.
Much has been learned about the teeth since the time eighteenth century. Today, an Austin dentist can perform near miracles – removing, replacing, cleaning, capping, filling, and even polishing teeth to the most pristine shade of white.
