18th Century European Dentistry PDF

## The 18th Century in Europe ### Pierre Fauchard * Pierre Fauchard (1678 - March 22, 1761) was a French physician, credited as being the "Father of Modern Dentistry”. He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, *Le Chirurgien Dentiste* ("The Surgeon Dent...

## The 18th Century in Europe ### Pierre Fauchard * Pierre Fauchard (1678 - March 22, 1761) was a French physician, credited as being the "Father of Modern Dentistry”. He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, *Le Chirurgien Dentiste* ("The Surgeon Dentist"), published in 1728. * The book described basic oral anatomy and function, signs and symptoms of oral pathology, operative methods for removing decay and restoring teeth, periodontal disease (pyorrhea), orthodontics, replacement of missing teeth, and tooth transplantation. ### Fauchard’s followers in France and Germany * His epic work influenced many medical minds in France, Europe, and other continents. Writing by others in France followed him rapidly: * **Robert Bunon (1702-1748)**, Bunon's work is essentially devoted to the study of the root causes of malformations and diseases, as well as prevention techniques. We can recognize Bunon a precursor of pedodontics. * **Etienne Bourdet (1722-1789)**, whose *Recherches et observations surtoutes les parties de l'art du dentiste* appeared in 1757 (4 years before Fauchard's death), who is said to be best dentist after Fauchard, based his work mainly on dental prosthesis (a concept introduced by Fauchard). * **Claude Mouton (died 1781)** who later became dentist to the king of France, published in 1746 his Essay *D'Odontotechnie*, the first book dealing exclusively with "mechanical dentistry", as dental technology was then called Duchateau, an apothecary in serve, molded the first porcelain denture In dentistry, it was Alexis Duchateau, a Parisian apothecary, a person who prepared and sold medicines and drugs., who first used the material for the fabrication of denture bases in the 18th. * In Germany, the publication of the German edition of Fauchard's work brought about resurgence of dental literature. * Before 1742, 150 dental treatises had been published, but yet none of them was written by a dentist. * *Treatise on the Teeth of the Human Body and Their Diseases* was brought out by **Philip Pfaff (1716-1780)**, dentist to Frederik the Great of Prussia, which was based in large part on Fauchard's book, the "surgical dentist" but also it contained some things that were new. Many other Fauchard's German follower made significant contributions to literature of dentistry. * **Johann Bücking (1749-1838)**, was one of them who wrote *Complete Handbook on Tooth Extraction for Practicing Surgeons* in 1782, and * **Adam Brunner** who brought out the *Introductions to the Knowledge Necessary for a dentist* (1965). * 'Sugar is bad for you!' A fact that did not escape the attention of one **Thomas Berdmore**, dentist to King George III, who was regarded as the leading dentist in England, and as early as 1768, in what appears to have been the first English dental textbook *'A treatise on the disorders and deformities of the teeth and gums: explaining the most rational methods of treating their diseases: illustrated with cases and experiments'* , he had proclaimed the use of sugar as being bad for teeth! * He was also ahead of his time with his observation: 'I am inclined to think that smoking is hurtful to the teeth.’ ### John Hunter * John Hunter (13 February 1728 – 16 October 1793) was a Scottish surgeon, one of the most distinguished scientists and surgeons of his day. He was an early advocate of careful observation and scientific method in medicine. He was a teacher of, and collaborator with, Edward Jenner, pioneer of the smallpox vaccine. He is alleged to have paid for the stolen body of Charles Byrne, and proceeded to study and exhibit it against the deceased's explicit wishes. His wife, Anne Hunter (née Home), was a poet, some of whose poems were set to music by Joseph Haydn. * He learned anatomy by assisting his elder brother William with dissections in William's anatomy school in Central London, starting in 1748, and quickly became an expert in anatomy. He spent some years as an Army surgeon, worked with the dentist James Spence conducting tooth transplants, and in 1764 set up his own anatomy school in London. He built up a collection of living animals whose skeletons and other organs he prepared as anatomical specimens, eventually amassing nearly 14,000 preparations demonstrating the anatomy of humans and other vertebrates, including 3,000+ animals. * Hunter became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767. The Hunterian Society of London was named in his honour, and the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons preserves his name and his collection of anatomical specimens. It still contains the illegally procured body of Charles Byrne, despite ongoing protests. ### Prosthetic Dentistry * Dental prostheory was pioneered by French surgeon Pierre Fauchard during the late 17th and early 18th century. Despite the limitations of the primitive surgical instruments, Fauchard discovered many methods to replace lost teeth using substitutes made from carved blocks of ivory or bone. He also introduced dental braces to correct the position of teeth using gold wires and silk threads. ### Mineral teeth * The word comes from Latin *calculus* "small stone”, from *calx* "limestone, lime", probably related to Greek χάλιξ *chalix* "small stone, pebble, rubble", which many trace to a Proto-Indo-European root for "split, break up”. * *Calculus* was a term used for various kinds of stones. This spun off many modern words, including "calculate" (use stones for mathematical purposes), and "calculus", which came to be used, in the 18th century, for accidental or incidental mineral buildups in human and animal bodies, like kidney stones and minerals on teeth. * *Tartar*, on the other hand, originates in Greek as well (tartaron), but as the term for the white encrustation inside casks, aka potassium bitartrate commonly known as cream of tartar. This came to be a term used for calcium phosphate on teeth in the early 19th century.