University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

Page 20 text:

THE MIRROR Ancient writers refer to the practice of dentistry as being coeval with the birth of medicine. The great Egyptologist Ebers has proven that in the Egyptian medical schools they had special teach- ers of dentistry upwards of 3000 years ago. The Egyptians at- tached great value to the dental organs, and one of their most severe punishments consisted in having one of the front teeth ex- tracted. I would be natural to suppose that in order to avoid sus- picion of guilt as well as to restore the loss artificial teeth were invented and substituted for the lost organs. Exhumed from the timeworn Egyptian tombs antedatin g the records of Herodotus, mouldering skeletons present arrays of gold-filled teeth, and an able authority states that the art of clasp-work was understood to some exactness. Gold work was understood by these ancient prac- titioners. A set of artificial teeth was discovered, the base being of solid gold and the teeth ivory. Bone and wooden teeth were frequently found by Belzoni in his researches in Egypt. It ap- pears that women, too, practiced the art of medicine and dentistry in those ancient days, since we find that women, being forbidden to consult with men, received services from their ov n sex. At the present time there are scores of women dentists practicing den- tistry in Egypt. Hebrew dental art is so intimately interwoven with the Egyp- tian that, aside from the Talmudical obligations, the dental art was practiced and understood by Hebrews and Egyptians alike. The ancient Hebrews were not noted for having at any period of their existence displayed any great amount of mechanical ingenuity and originality in the arts and sciences and cannot with good au- thority be accredited. These people, if at all gifted in this direc- tion, have failed to leave a lasting impression. Language and law were perhaps their great triumphs. The ancient Hebrews too well knew the worth of teeth, and the great King Solomon wisely nick- named them the millstones, and they were by his people recog- nized as the motive power of life. Moses legislated his famous law known as tooth for tooth, an edict which was altered and ex- plained in the Talmud to mean a fine or penalty. The Talmudical 14

Page 19 text:

THE MIRROR History of Dentistry THERE is an Arabian maxim of much truth which says : If you are about to acquaint yourself with a man, first learn where he was born, and next how he was raised. And this good advice in sentiment might as well be given to those who are about to acquire a knowledge of the mysteries of den- tistry, namety: First learn of its origin, and next determine its progress. This short sketch and the few morals contained therein are by no means intended to consider all facts relating to the history of dentistry ; it is only meant to serve the reader as a guide, pointing out the road; then, to the faithful dental student, who is ever yearning for fresh draughts of information, every subject that pertains to the history and progress of dental art and science is fraught with the deepest interest, and probably no feature in the annals of dentistry solicit his attention sooner and merit such sin- cere consideration as does the story of the rise, fall and revival of the dental art. Dentistry is generally considered a modern science, but on care- ful investigation we find, on the contrary, that it is ancient and there is abundant evidence to show that the art is of great antiqui- ty. Of the origin of the art of dentistry no one can speak with certainty, as its early history is shrouded in the mists of oblivion, but dental operations, we learn, are recorded in very remote times. It is impossible to determine the native home of dental prosthesis, but in all probability Egypt, the most highly civilized nation of the ancient world, claims the art as a cherished creation. In the year 332 B. C. Alexander the Great founded in upper Egypt a city which he named Alexandria. Here lived and labored Herophilus, Galen, Aetius, and many others who adorn the early annals of medical science. The Egyptians cultivated the science and art of medicine at an early date, each physician applying himself to some one specialty, and there sprang up oculists, aurists and dentists. 13

Page 21 text:

THE MIRROR folklore says : If a man dreams that his false teeth have fallen out it is a bad omen that his children will soon die. Among the orthodox Jews, specially of the large cities of Europe, where the rabbis are regarded as the lawgivers of Hebrew communities even now after the Ghetto era, none will submit to a dental opera- tion unless the ingredients used by the operators are pronounced by their spiritual advisers as not prohibited by the rabbinical code or the ceremonial law. Anything obtained from the bodies of such animals as swine, hippopotami, oysters, etc., would be posi- tively forbidden to be used in dentures to be applied to Jewish patrons. The Chinese were in ancient days a persevering people and made w onderful advancements in the arts, and especially in the sciences. The practice of dentistry in China is doubtless very an- cient, but it has not attained that perfection which characterizes the modern art. It is well known that the Chinese attribute tooth- ache to the gnawing of worms and that their dentists claim they take these worms from decayed teeth. The Chinese doctor or den- tist ranks no higher than the ordinary skilled workman. He gets from 15 to 20 cents a visit, and he often takes patients on condi- tion that he will cure them within a certain time, or no pay. He never sees his female patients except behind a screen, and he does not pay a second visit unless he is invited. His pay is called golden thanks, and the orthodox way of sending it to him is to wrap it in red paper. Artificial teeth among the Chinese of medie- val times were seldom worn, since the dental surgeon not only seemed skilled enough to preserve them, but the Chinese were known to be the possessors of sound teeth. We now leave the superstitious Chinaman and wander to his neighbor, the skillful and dextrous Japanese. It is a little re- markable that a nation which places the value they do upon their teeth and who take the care that is everywhere evident of their appearance should be ignorant of everything relating to them other than their mere mechanical substitution. Taken as a race, the Japanese have not good teeth, neither can they be said to be IS