Forgotten Dentistry...

Densistry is to most of us, a modern science abounding with technological advances, and born to the hilt by cutting edge materials and equipment. I did a little read up, trying to understand how in ancient times people went about caring and getting treatments for their tooth issues. Were there dentists then too? Were there preventive and interceptive methods of dental treatment, other than extraction? These are some of the questions I will try answering today.
Starting with extractions, the removal of teeth has been carried out by the eldest male in the family. In some communities where teeth were considered holy or symbolic, the village witch doctor, or medicine man did the extractions. Pain was not much of an issue then, because people weren't aware that means to allieviate it, existed. But in ancient Sumer & Phoenecia, the sap of some plants were used as a topical anesthetic just before extraction. Very often infected root apices were left behind, leading to jaw-wrenching infections.
Coming to fillings, yes.. Do not be surprized! Fillings have been done in humans for about 9000 years now. Primitive dentists drilled nearly perfect holes into live but undoubtedly unhappy patients between 5500 B.C. and 7000 B.C., an article in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature reports. Researchers carbon-dated at least nine skulls with 11 drill holes found in a Pakistan graveyard.
That means dentistry is at least 4,000 years older than first thought — and far older than the useful invention of anesthesia.This was no mere tooth tinkering. The drilled teeth found in the graveyard were hard-to-reach molars. And in at least one instance, the ancient dentist managed to drill a hole in the inside back end of a tooth, boring out toward the front of the mouth.The holes went as deep as one-seventh of an inch (3.5 millimeters)..
“The holes were so perfect, so nice,” said study co-author David Frayer, an anthropology professor at the University of Kansas.How it was done is painful just to think about. Researchers figured that a small bow was used to drive the flint drill tips into patients’ teeth. Flint drill heads were found on site. So study lead author Roberto Macchiarelli, an anthropology professor at the University of Poitiers, France, and colleagues simulated the technique and drilled through human (but no longer attached) teeth in less than a minute.Researchers were impressed by how advanced the society was in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. And let me tell you, friends.. in ancient times this was all part of India. In fact Mehgarh where the fossils were unearthed is close to the border between the two countries that were partitioned post-Independence. So we as Indians, can be proud of our early foray into specialized dentistry in a time when medicine was just being understood. The drilling occurred on ordinary men and women.
Dentistry, probably evolved from intricate ornamental bead drilling that was also done by the society there, went on for about 1,500 years until about 5500 B.C., Macchiarelli said. After that, there were no signs of drilling.
The practice of dentistry in ancient Egypt, was limited to the royal court. The rest of the people, the common people, had to rely on their "swnw" known as the doctor of the people for their dentistry needs. The first reference to dentist was given to a physician and scribe Hesy-Re in 2650 BC.
The main role of the dentists was that of research and they kept their observations documented with great accuracy. Dentists today mainly focus on treatment, relying on the patients to take care of the prevention portion. The treatments of ancient Egypt were based on a hit or miss system with hopes of preventing the ailments; curing was not their specialty. If one course of action didn't work then they would try another one until they came up with a remedy. However, if the remedies did not work then they would call upon their magic to destroy "the enemy which is in the tooth".
The dentist's magic came from their god Ptah. Ptah was the creator and his mouth was used to bring forth life therefore the teeth within his life-giving mouth was magical in association. Also the dentists (correctly) believed that the teeth was important for correct pronouncement of words.
The Ebers Medical Papyrus shows 10 remedies for "keeping a tooth in good condition". One of the remedies sounds a lot like how we take care of a cavity. The recipe for a filling "Resin of terebinth: 1; Numbian Clay: 1; green eye lotion: crush together and (or apply) to the tooth". This next one might be a long lost recipe for Listerine. It is a recipe to take on halitosis or bad breath: "Breath sweetener: Take frankincense, myrrh, cinnamon, bark and other fragrant plants, boil with honey and shape into pellets".
Eventhough ancient Egypt's dentists didn't focus on the cure of the ailments, without their exstensive notes our dentistry field of today would not be as educated as they are today. It is amazing that Egypt has a family tree of great medical skills as well as mathematical and engineering skills. It would not be a surprise if the ancient Egyptians invented the first painkillers used in the medical field, finding natural agents to numb the hyper nerves in the mouths of the pharaohs.
A vigorous development in the art of dentistry does not, however, seem to have come until the rise of the Etruscan civilization in Italy.8 The Etruscans were industrious, intelligent and artistic to the highest degree, fond of luxury in all its manifestations and took great care of their persons. At the same time they were a courageous people, skilled in arts and commerce and splendid navigators. In their long sea voyages they often visited Egypt, Phoenicia and Greece trading especially in the more flourishing cities, Memphis in Egypt, Tyre and Sidon in Phoenicia.
Thanks to this close and continuous intercourse, the Etruscans probably learned early what the Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Greeks could teach in the way of dentistry and developed the art. The numerous specimens of Etruscan dental art now in Italian and other museums allow us to observe the high standard of Etruscan dentistry in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C.
Traditions have it that Greek dentistry had its origin with Asklepios (Aesculapius) whose two sons, both physicians, took special part in the siege of Troy. All the physicians and dentists from that time up to and including Hippocrates (born 460 B.C.) were members of the sacerdotal caste of Asklepiadi. But examinations of their various writings do not reveal any record of mechanical dental appliances for lost or weakened teeth or instructions for their manufacture. Volumes of medical and dental advice were written during this time, but interference consisted mostly of simple medical prescriptions similar to those recorded in Egypt. Extraction was resorted to only when the teeth were extremely loose. The Greeks prided themselves in their ability to withstand pain, so possibly did not consider a toothache a thing painful enough to warrant elimination of an organ as necessary to appearance as a tooth. This, together with their physical fitness due to their great love of athletics and athletic games, may explain the very few examples of restorative dentistry among the well preserved archaeological remains of ancient Greece.
I dont want to talk about Dentistry in the Known World, because there is so much to talk about. I will reserve it for later.
Thus we are upholding in our practise today a forgotten art, that in it's days was cutting edge too. Thousands of years later, we still follow the same basic principles, and treatment modalities. All hail these pioneers of dentistry.. :-)