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Progressive dental care that enhances health and changes lives. Our practice strives to offer solutions for our patients using the highest levels of technology. Have you ever considered what this means?
Scientists have traced the beginnings of dental care to about 5000 BC… when it was thought that “Tooth Worms” caused tooth decay, bands of gold were strapped around existing teeth to create tooth replacements, and barbers would give you a shave AND do an extraction on the same day, talk about convenience!
The modern profession of dentistry began to develop and change in the 18th century when Pierre Fauchard, the father of modern dentistry, published a “treatise on teeth”; a book that described a comprehensive system for the practice of dentistry including basic oral anatomy and function, operative and restorative techniques, and denture construction. Since then the choices you have in dental care have evolved dramatically.
Consider this: The first anesthesia, ether, was used for dental surgery in 1846. Cocaine was also used in the late 1800’s which led to the development of Novocain. Novocain was formulated and marketed in 1905, spelled without an –e, due to a marketing error (opps). Many people think of Novocain as the classic numbing drug, but actually Novocain is not used anymore. Lidocaine is the most common local anesthetic that dentists currently use, along with others that end in –caine.
Or This: A modern high speed, air-driven hand piece (drill) averages 300,000 rotations per minute and was not introduced to modern dentistry until 1957. The beginnings of the “drill” start with the Mayans; it was a pointed cylindrical tool made from jade and was used for the cosmetic purpose of setting jewels in teeth, having about the same impact as the modern day tongue piercing! It was discovered in the 1600’s that the “drill” could relieve dental pain; the decay was “chiseled” and various materials were used to “fill” the tooth. (Another interesting progression) The progression to the high speed drill involved a hand crank and a spinning wheel. The first commercially available foot-treadle dental engine, “speed-drill”, was introduced in 1871 and canged dental treatment forever. We have now begun using state of the art electric handpieces for greater accuracy and LESS NOISE! The days of ear plugs and whining drills are almost behind us.
What about This? Don’t take that chair for granted…. Picture sitting on the floor, head tilted back, secured by the doctors’ knees so you don’t accidentally move while he completes his treatment. Sounds like a lot of fun, huh? The use of wooden chairs with a padded headrest came next. However, the first chair designed specifically for dentistry was not until1832 - it reclined, slightly! A fully reclining dental chair was not designed for over 100 year’s in1958.
A closer look at any tool, material or procedure in our dental office can paint an interesting picture of progression and how we offer the best of what we have to all our patients.
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