History

In 2001, archaeologists studying the remains of two men from Mehrgarh, Pakistan made the discovery that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, even from the early Harappan periods (c. 3300 BC), had knowledge of medicine and dentistry. The physical anthropologist that carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the University of Missouri-Columbia, made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men. Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled, dating back 9,000 years.
Historically, dental extractions have been used to treat a variety of illnesses. During the Middle Ages and through the 19th century, dentistry was not a profession into itself, and often dental procedures were performed by barbers or general physicians. Barbers usually limited their practice to extracting teeth, which not only resulted in the alleviation of pain, but often cured a variety of ailments linked with chronic tooth infection. Instruments used for dental extractions date back several centuries. In the 14th century, Guy de Chauliac invented the dental pelican (resembling a pelican's beak) which was used through the late 18th century. The pelican was replaced by the dental key which, in turn, was replaced by modern forceps in the 20th century.

It is said that the 17th century french physician Pierre Fauchard started dentistry science as we know it today, hence he was named "the father of modern dentistry". Among many of his developments were, the extensive use of dental prosthesis, introduced dental fillings as treatment for dental cavities and stated sugar derivate acids like tartaric acid were responsible of dental decay.

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