1728 France The dentist Pierre Fauchard, credited as the Father of Modern Dentistry, describes in his book Le Chirurgien Dentiste, ou traité des dents a comprehensive system for the practice of dentistry, including basic oral anatomy and function, operative and restorative techniques, and denture construction. He also opposes the contemporary belief in tooth worms as the cause of caries. His work is translated into English only in 1946.
and patriot of the independence wars, verifies the death of his friend by identifying the bridge he constructed for him.
1746 France Claude Mouton describes a gold crown and post to be retained in the root canal.
1815 USA Levi Spear Parmly, a New Orleans dentist, is credited as the inventor of modern dental floss (a piece of silk thread); although threads used as floss have subsequently been found in prehistoric sites.
1756 Germany Philipp Pfaff, the dentist of the Prussian King Frederick II, introduces the use of wax and plaster of Paris to take an impression. This greatly improves the fitting of dentures. Like Pierre Fauchard, he establishes standards for dental care and pushes dental practice to new levels. 1771 UK John Hunter’s Natural History of the Human Teeth is published, together with A Practical Treatise on the Diseases of the Teeth.
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1776 UK Joseph Priestley synthesises nitrous oxide, later known as laughing gas. By the 1840s its narcotic and painnumbing properties are used by dentists and surgeons in particular.
1776 USA In one of the first known cases of post-mortem dental forensics, John Revere, a dentist
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1790 USA One of George Washington’s dentists, John Greenwood, constructs the first known dental foot engine. He adapts his mother’s foot treadle spinning wheel to rotate a drill. 1790 USA Josiah Flagg, a dentist, constructs the first chair made specifically for dental patients. 1791 France Nicolas Dubois de Chemant receives the first patent for porcelain teeth. 1795 USA Increased cancers of the lip are reported in pipe smokers by Samuel Thomas von Soemmering. 1800s China Women of higher classes paint their teeth black as a sign of marital fidelity.
1815 UK Teeth from the 50,000 soldiers killed in the battle of Waterloo are taken out and used to fabricate dentures, known as “Waterloo teeth”. Even though the use of porcelain teeth and new materials become more widespread, extracted human teeth are used until the 1860s to make dentures. 1832 USA James Snell invents the first reclining dental chair. 1839 USA The American Journal of Dental Science, the world’s first dental journal, is first published. 1839 USA Based on an earlier German discovery, Charles Goodyear develops vulcanised rubber, a material that allows for cheap and well-fitting dentures. 1839 The world’s first dental school, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, opens. Dental schools are opened in Berlin (Germany) in 1855, in London (UK) in 1858, in Paris (France) in 1880 by Charles Godon, the founder of the FDI, in Geneva (Switzerland) in