Every time you go to the dentist, your treatment results from centuries of advances in dentistry. Many of these came directly from historic dental books. Take a closer look at some of the most important dental books that shape Dr. Sharma’s treatment.
“The Surgeon Dentist” (1728)
There is no doubt that the most important dental book in history is “The Surgeon Dentist: Or, Treatise on the Teeth” by Pierre Fauchard. This book is so important that it cemented Fauchard’s reputation as the father of modern dentistry.
Just some of the new ideas and innovations to dentistry that Fauchard put in his book included:
- “Tooth worms” do not cause cavities
- Sugar is bad for your teeth and gums
- Baby teeth have roots
- Filling teeth after removing cavities strengthens them
- Regular teeth cleanings are important
- Early braces
Other Important Books
The following are some of the other important dental books throughout history:
- “Practica” (1504, 1557) and “Expositio in primam fen quarti canonis Avicenne” (1496) by Giovanni Arcolani – includes a description of how to use gold leaf for fillings.
- “Opuscula anatomica” (1563) by Bartolomeo Eustachi – includes the first book on dental histology.
- “Curious observations in that difficult part of chirurgery relating to teeth” (1687) and “The operator for the teeth” (1687) by Charles Allen – the first English dentistry book.
- “Abhandlung von den Zähnen des menschlichen Körpers” (1756) by Philipp Pfaff – Germany’s first scientific dentistry book. It also has the earliest use of plaster models for teeth.
- “A treatise on the human teeth” (1801) by Richard C. Skinner – the first U.S. published dental book for the public.
Conclusion
Exploring some of the older dental books can give you insight into how far dentistry has come. Or you can visit your dentist in Chicago while resting easily in the knowledge that your treatment is the result of centuries of progress.
Sources:
https://www.fauchard.org/publications/47-who-is-pierre-fauchard
https://www.hsls.pitt.edu/rare-books/dentistry
https://bda.org/library/history/historybooks
https://dental.nyu.edu/aboutus/rare-book-collection.html