Tooth Worms Cause Tooth Decay: How Dentistry Has Changed

Plastic toothbrushes, cozy dentist chairs, relaxing sedation, and knowledgeable cosmetic and restorative dentists didn’t always exist. Here is a flashback to how things were, to help you enjoy your next visit with us even more.

7000 B.C.

If you fear dentists and scary drills at least you didn’t have to live at this time in the Indus Valley of India and Pakistan. The dental assistant’s job was to hold down flailing arms and legs of patients while the dentist used bow drills to treat teeth problems.

5000 B.C.-the 1300s

At least if you lived during this era, your cavities weren’t your fault. They all came from evil tooth worms that snuck into your mouth to make holes in your teeth like a worm makes a hole in an apple.

3000 B.C.

The Ancient Egyptians honored beautiful smiles just as much as we do. They bound replacement teeth together with shiny, gold wire like a primitive dental bridge. Hesi-Re was the first dentist, which meant greatest of the teeth.

700 B.C.

The Romans method of using bones, eggshells and oyster shells mixed with oils to cleanse teeth makes brushing with toothpaste and flossing even more appealing.

570 A.D.

In the Middle East the first toothbrush was created called the siwak, which is made from a twig. The end of the twig is peeled back and chewed to clean teeth. This form of toothbrush is still used in some primitive villages around the world.

Until the 16^th century

If you need your tooth pulled, stop by the barber. Dentistry was practiced by doctors and barbers. Their favorite procedure was tooth extraction, which helped with pain and stopping teeth from further decay. It was also used as torture. The Christian martyr St. Apollonia, the patron saint of dentistry, was burned by the Romans after her teeth were extracted.

1723

We can thank the French for the father of modern dentistry. A French surgeon, Pierre Fauchard, published The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth, which is the first book to describe a system for caring for and treating the teeth.

1840

America stepped up to create the first dental school —the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery and it still exists today.

1844

Horace Wells discovered that nitrous oxide can be used as anesthesia. But when he tried a public demonstration of it, the patient cried out in surgery. One of his students, William Morton, later took credit for the discovery since he had a better demonstration.

1957

This year brought the tool most patients fear most, the first high speed electric hand drill was invented by John Borden.

1960s

A big decade for dentists–the first dental lasers were developed for soft tissue procedures and the first electric toothbrush was invented.

1990s

It wasn’t until the 90s that cosmetic dentistry began as veneers, bleaching, dental implants, and teeth whitening became popular.

2012

Come visit us to see what cutting-edge technology and innovations we are offering this year.

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