Columbia University School of Dental and Oral Surgery - Dental Columbian Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Prosthetics Early prosthodontists, primarily con- cerned as they were with esthetics, were faced with the problem of obtaining teeth for their appliances. What better source of supply than the human dentition? However, demand exceeded supply. A notorious group at the time, the Resurrectionists ' attempted to meet that problem by exhum- ing recently buried corpses. Gilbert P. Smith. D.D.S. Professor of Dentistry Max A. Pleasure Geor»e W. Hindels Herbert D. Avers. Jr. D.D.S., M.S.P.H. M.D., D.D.S. A.B., D.D.S. 4ssoc. Prof, of Dentistry 55 . Clin. Prof, of Dentistry Inst, in Dentistry Robert E. Herlands A.B., D.D.S. Asst. Prof, of Dentistry Louis A. Cohn, D.D.S. Asst. Clin. Prof, of Dentistry W v Oscar E. Beder B.S., D.D.S. Asst. Prof, of Dentistry William J. Miller A.B.. D.D.S. Inst, in Dentistry -- JSZ I. Frank Boscarelli B.S. ? D.D.S. Asst. in Dentistry h (Li ie 4 John J. Lucca H. Arden, B.S., D.D.S. S. A. Bruno. D.D.S. A.B., D.D.S. Inst, in Dentistry Clin. Asst. in Dentistry Instructor in Dentistry 13

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Prosthetics — the Earliest beginning At the Louvre in Paris rests one of the earliest prosthetic appliances known to man. This appliance is of the fixed bridgework type and consists of extracted natural teeth. Taken from one individual and adjusted to the mouth of another, they are held in place with gold wire ligatures. This is a Phoenician specimen dating between 300 and 400 B.C. These ancient prosthodontists also attempt- ed the splinting of weak teeth to adjacent stronger ones. The earliest known contrivance of this sort was found in an Etruscan necropo- lis which dates back to the sixth century, B.C. Probably one of the most interesting early prosthetic appliances is an Etruscan bridge which was fabricated about 500 B.C. This consisted of seven gold rings soldered together forming one unit. Five of the rings were fixed to upper natural teeth and three held pontics which had been carved from an ox tooth and riveted to place. Similar appliances used by the Romans were probably of Etruscan origin. According to Marco Polo, in the late thir- teenth century, residents of southeast China wore thin plates of gold over their teeth. How- ever, these were probably more for ornamen- tal purposes than for treatment of dental ills. Probably the first use of cast gold crowns to correct defective teeth can be credited to C. Mouton, about 1740. Several such crowns, in- dependent of supporting loops, have been lo- cated in a tomb near Vetulonia in Italy. Scholars of ancient civilizations disagree on several of the many facets of Etruscan cul- ture. Their history survives as an interesting mystery. Their origin is obscure and their language still defies translation. Their art may not have been as inspired as Greek art — but it is agreed that they were a practical people. Their skills were applied to sculpture, archi- tecture and outstandingly to jewelry making. The master craftsmanship and great contribu- tions of the Etruscans becomes more appar- ent to us as dentists when we consider that there was no evidence of concrete improve- ment over their early appliances until the advent of Pierre Fauchard. Fauchard, the acknowledged Father of modern dentistry, made many improvements in the field of fixed prosthesis, for example. the use of dowels to retain a bridge. Tremen- dous strides of a mechanical nature were made subsequently. However, dentistry was sorely lacking in a basic biological perspec- tive. Restorations often caused more harm than good. But after a severe tongue lashing by William Hunter, dentistry underwent a period of necessary reformation. Men like Hunter, Miller, Black and Williams placed the profession on a sounder foundation. It has changed from a mere technical esthetic serv- ice to a vital health service embodying all the principles of the biologic sciences. 12

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Stomatology Diagnosis — a modem concept Prior to modern dentistry the early barber dentists and physicians were skilled men, to be sure. That the origin of a disease and its diagnosis were of any significance in the treat- ment of that disease was unappreciated by them for the most part. Not until John Hunter ' s treatise on oral diseases did the physician-dentist realize the basic relationship between etiology, diagnosis and therapy. Much later, in 1895, a paper was read before the Physico- Medical Society of Wurzburg by a brilliant German physicist. It was read by Wilhelm Roentgen and he described his dis- covery of the rays which bear his name. Lewis R. Stowe. D.D.S. Professor of Dentistry Edward V. Zecarelli A.B., D.D.S., M.S. Assoc. Prof, of Dentistry Diagoosis and Radiology Joseph A. Cuttita A.B., M.S., D.D.S. Asst. Prof, of Dentistry Jack Budowsky, D.D.; Asst. Clin. Prof, of Dentistry F. A. Tuoti. D.jM.D. Instr. in Dentistry G. Minervini A.B., D.D.S. Clin. Asst. in Dentistry W. Halpert, B.S., D.D.S. Clin. Asst. in Dentistry John D. Piro, D.D.S. Clin. Asst. in Dentistry Evald Linder Inst, in Radiology Ida M. Golomb. D.D.S. CUn. Asst. in Dentistry 14