Ruth Ann Foster age 12, of Gadsden, Ala., for her question:
WHEN WAS DENTISTRY FIRST USED?
Dentistry as an independent specialty had its beginnings in ancient Egypt. Some tombstones erected about 300 B.C. bear inscriptions indicating that tooth doctors were numbered among the medical specialists of the day.
There is no evidence, however, to indicate that the ancient dentists performed restorative dentistry. However, we know that Etruscans replaced missing teeth as early as 700 B.C.
Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek physician, described the function and sequence of eruption of the teeth. In his studies of natural history, Aristotle investigated the comparative anatomy of the teeth. And during the first century A.D., the Roman encyclopedist Aulus Celsus discussed dental diseases and suggested that before extraction, a decaying tooth should be filled with lint to prevent it from breaking.
The first writer to discuss the dental nerves was the Greek physician Galen who settled in Rome. He also used a file in removing decayed portions of a tooth.
By the 16th century, the first specialized works appeared that were devoted entirely to the subject of dentistry. The greatest contribution in the early history of dental anatomy was a pamphlet on teeth written in 1563 by the Italian anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachio.
Known as the father of modern dentistry was the Frenchman Pierre Fauchard who wrote "The Surgeon Dentist" in 1728. In 1771, the British surgeon John Hunter published his "Natural History of Human Teeth" which forms the foundation of all modern texts on the anatomy of the jaw and teeth.
Organized dentistry began in 1840 with the founding of the first dental school in the world, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in Baltimore, Md., and the establishment of the American Society of Dental Surgery.
Most dentists today are general practitioners in all phases of dentistry.
Dentistry is subdivided into specialized fields, although the general practitioner may undertake as many of them as his or her interest and capabilities permit. The American Dental Association authorized eight specialties: oral surgery, orthodontics, prosthodontics, periodontics, endontics, pedodontics oral pathology and public health dentistry.
Oral surgery is the branch that deals with the diagnosis and surgical treatment of any disease, injury, malformation or deficiency of the jaws or associated structures.
Orthodontics is the division of dentistry that regulates the position of the teeth.
Prosthodontics provides artificial substitutes, or dentures, for missing teeth.
Periodontics is concerned with the study and treatment of supporting structures.
Endodontics deals with surgical and therapeutic procedures involved in tooth nerves.
Pedodontics deals with the general practice of dentistry for patients under 20 years of age, and, in general, with patients possessing wholly deciduous or first teeth.
Oral pathology is concerned with oral disease.
Public health dentistry is concerned with promoting dental health through community efforts.