The Toothworm Debacle: Dentistry Through The Years

Sometimes when I’m alone in the office, my mind starts to wander and I think about all the things that have happened to get us to the point we’re at in dentistry. You do that, too, right? Like, who was the first person to call themselves a dentist? What sort of treatments did they use for dental problems before modern dentistry?

… maybe I shouldn’t be hanging out by myself in the office. Anyway, if you’re curious like I was, read on to see the answers I found online!

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself wondering about weird little things about dentistry. Like, who first thought it was a good idea to drill into a tooth to relieve jaw pain? That seems like it would cause more pain, doesn’t it? Some of the old fashioned remedies people tell me about also cause me to raise an eyebrow from time to time. I mean, whatever works for you, go for it as long as you come to see me, too.

As it turns out, all these things I’ve been pondering were also bothering some of the writers at Discovery Magazine. They did a lot of digging and built a really cool timeline of dental history, starting way back in 12,000 BC. Yeah, that’s not a typo. We dentists have a long and delightful tradition of drilling and filling. Lucky for you and your teeth, huh?

Here’s a link to that timeline. Check it out when you have a minute.

 


Credit: http://discovermagazine.com/2017/nov/dental-doctoring-throughout-history

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