The History of Dentistry
There is evidence that dentistry has been practiced for thousands of years. In this era, decay was removed using crude tools. Dentistry also has it’s “roots” in places all over the world. Beeswax was the original dental filling, first used in Europe, also thousands of years ago. The first known dentist was Hesy Re, of ancient Egypt. Since then, millions of dental practitioners have treated billions of patients, employing techniques that have evolved tremendously century after century. Drs. Katie and Frank Grosso, Carroll and Frederick County dentists, now create full arch or full mouth dental implant solutions, which is a far cry from the flint tools of the past.
French barbers became dentists in the 1200s. The more talented of them would perform dental surgeries, and the others would handle all the true barber duties. One of the premier French dentists, Pierre Fauchard, was known as “The Father of Modern Dentistry”. He was an extremely gifted doctor, often using tools from barbers, and watchmakers among others, to complete surgeries. This foreshadowed modern times where dental tools might resemble tools borrowed from a handyman or construction worker. Fauchard also created dental prothesis and braces. The braces were made of gold. Grosso Family Dentistry now treats patients with Invisalign invisible aligners. From made of gold to invisible. The evolution continues.
X-rays began being taken in the 1890’s, with the first dental x-ray in America taking place in New Orleans. Impressions have changed and are still changing somewhat recently, as digital scanning has become the norm. Scans are particularly valuable in ascertaining bone structure and density for dental implant placement. The first implants were reported to be thousands of years ago as well, allegedly wooden pegs placed by “dentists” in China. In the late 1800s, dentists had begun to try to place implants made of porcelain and platinum, but the implants would fail. Once the importance of osseointegration was realized, implant placement became much more successful. Osseointegration is the connection of bone and an implant. Titanium fuses particularly well. A renowned surgeon, Branemark, placed the first titanium implant in the 1960’s. Titanium alloy is now used quite frequently. Drs. Grosso of Grosso Family Dentistry have placed many dental implants, and have even performed full arch surgeries at their offices in Eldersburg and Libertytown. Some statistics show the success rate of dental implant surgery as over 95%, as it has become by far the most reliable way to replace a tooth.
Dr. Frederick McKay proved that naturally occurring fluoride in the water supply protects against tooth decay. This was very lucky for Americans, as fluoride was included beginning in 1945. Dr. Greene Black standardized dental instruments. As dental operatories grow and become more complex, a lot of dentists have surgical kits provided by medical and dental supply companies. Dr. Charles Land created porcelain crowns, which were wonderful to look at, and established dentistry as having an aesthetic purpose as well.
Dental implants do not act as a replacement tooth, they act as a replacement root. Just like other aspects of dentistry, the first attempt at a root canal appears to have taken place thousands of years ago. A root canal is when an infected root is cleaned out. If the tooth cannot be saved an implant would be inserted after extraction of the decayed tooth.
Dentists appear to be offering more and more solutions, as they take a holistic approach to health and wellness. At Grosso Family Dentistry in Eldersburg and the Frederick area, Botox and facial filler solutions are offered, as well as treatment of sleep apnea.