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

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towiird the close of the sc -entecnth ccntur . Jor nwuiy years immediately follo ing the iuuehurd cr.i THE no notable e ents mark the progress of dentistry. There were, however, during this period many cmi- MIRROR nent practitioners and writers, such as M. De Chemant and Bourdet in France: John Hunter, Blake and I ' o in P ' .ngland, and John Woofendale, Joseph Lemaire, John (jreenwooii, Horace H. Hayden and otliLTs in our own country. These gentlemen, together with many others, kept ali e an unorgan- ized profession, and not onlv sa ' ed a most useful and beneficent calling from utter obl; ion, bur pre- pared the way for the momentous e ents soon to follow. In 1839 the first dental college was established — our College — the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. Prior to this time no orderly or organized instruction was gi en; all kinds of men coulti practice dentistry, but from that moment dentistry was established upon a scientific basis — that is, it was for the first time efficiently taught upon the general principles upon which medicine is lounded. with the addition of special manual training, and therefore its future was secure. The little candle then lighted by Dr. Chapin A. Harris and Dr. Horace H. Hayden has now become a glowing flame which shines throughout the oi-lil. Other schools of the same character were eslablishetl until there are now about sixty dental colleges in our own country. So great has been the athancement antl progress in dental education that whereas not man years ago anyone who hati served as an apprentice for a while with a preceptor was eligible to g i into practice, now the rei]uirements are a complete high-school education before entering college, a three- years ' course at the dental college, and after graduation a satisfactory examination before the exam- ining boards of the different States. In some States the requirements are e -cn more rigid, and in Virginia a bill has been passed requiring that all applicants foi ' the practice of dentistry in that State must ha e the degree of M.D. as well as D.D.S. Such is the high estate into which dental education has come. i ' .ach car shuws marked ad aiicemciit in dental science and presents in increasing number its inno- ations and impi-o emeiits. So rapid has been the progress that books ani.1 instruments ot toilay are tomorrow almost obsolete. So great has been the development of the arious elements that enter into It or ha e grown nut of it that it has become necessarw in large cities at least, to (.li ' ide its practice into

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THE Before considering these opportunities and the future of dentistry it might not be amiss to revie v MIRROR our origin and growth. Let us, then, delve briefly into our past. As far back as we can go in history no great civilization has existed without paying some attention to the care and treatment of teeth in health and disease. During the height of Egyptian civiHzation we find reference to the dental specialist attend- ant at court, and it is barely possible that information spread in all directions, or it may be that we had a simultaneous origin in the extreme Orient, where we find mention by the Chinese of the tooth brush 1500 years B. C. At any rate, from this time on scarcely any great people lived who did not pay as much attention to the disease-s of the teeth as to other organs. Litterateurs, naturalists and general historians all refer to some phase of dentistry often enough to remind us of the fact that we can be proud of our ancient origin, traditional as it may seem. The Greeks learned from the Egyptians, and from ancient Greece knowledge was diffused in m any directions. Up to this time the prevention and medical treatment of caries prevailed. If we now can rely upon the museums for evidence, we find that surgical methods were employed, that is, extraction of loose teeth, and just a little later, during the height of Etruscan ci ' ilization, some attempts at restoration of lost teeth by bridge work. The Romans were evidently well instructed, as we find much e -idence of dentistry, such as instruments for the extract- ing and cleansing of teeth. With the beginning of the Dark Ages we also suffer with the rest, but when restoration by the Arabs set in, about the eighth century, dentistry was not lost sight of, and it is of great interest to us to know that as early as the twelfth century a book by a student of the University of Strassburg appeared dealing with dentistry alone. In the fifteenh century we have the writings of Arculanus, who appears to have been the first to definitely advocate the use of gold foil in filling decayed teeth. About this same period there flourished in P ' rance the great barber surgeon, Ambroise Pare, known as the father of modern surgery and also as the foster-father of dental surgery. He was the first, so far as known, to practice orthodontia. But the real renaissance of dental surgery did not arrive until the time of Pierre Fauchard, the father of modern dentistry and author of a monumental work, The Sur- geon Dentist. Dr. Chapin A. Harris says of him: He found the dental art a crude branch of mechanics; he left it a digested and systematic branch of the curati -e art. He was born in Brittany 14

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THE specialties. I would mention orthodontia, oral surgery, prosthesia and prophylaxis. There are also MIRROR specialists in pyorrhea — ah ' eolaris, etc. The dental association is an instrument oi undoubteci value in professional development, and I would not underestimate the tremendous influence for ad ' ancement exercised by the local, State and national associations. Dental journalism has also fulfilled its mission nobly. It has given us a literature without which dentistry could never lay claim to the dignity of a profession. Another step in the line of progress is the favorable action of Congress in passing a bill providing for dental surgeons in both the Uniteci States Army and Navy, giving the dental surgeon equal standing with the medical corps of the same rank. What promises tp be the greatest campaign ever organized for the abolition of disease has recently been organized by the dentists of this country — the Oral Hygiene Mo ' ement. This work is well under way, and in many of our large cities oral and dental examination of all school children is being made, and the movement is receiving official recognition of regularly constituted State health authorities. The object of this movement is to enhance the health of the human race through dental hygiene; nor can it be doubted that the accomplishment of this work will redounci to the credit of dentistry and tend to more securely place Its ministrations among the benefactions of mankind. Hospitals are now opening their doors to dentists, and in many of the large cities there are dentists on the medical staff. I would not overlook the X-ray or underestimate the important part It now has in dental operations. The establishment of dental research laboratories is also significant in the advancement of dental science. I will make no further mention of the progress of dentistry up to the present time, although much more could be said, but I challenge any profession to show more advancement and progress than that made In dentistry In recent years. It is simply marvelous. Let us now consider the future of dentistry. It is always hazardous to attempt to prophesy. But already we stand in the shadow of coming events, and it is not difficult to discern some of them. The future will see advancing professional and educational standards and higher preliminary edu- i6