Oral disease has been a problem for humans since the beginning of time. Skulls of the Cro-Magnon people, who inhabited the earth 25,000 years ago, show evidence of tooth decay. The earliest recorded reference to oral disease is from a Sumerian text (circa 5,000 B.C.) that describes "tooth worms" as a cause of dental decay.
Things have certainly changed from the Middle ages to the early 1700's, when most dental therapy was provided by so-called ‘barber surgeons"-These jacks-of-all-trades would extract teeth and perform minor surgery, in addition to cutting hair, applying leeches and performing embalming.

In the 1800's, dental practices included such duties as extracting teeth with the turnkey (a primitive tool like a ratchet wrench used for extracting teeth), cleaning the teeth with scrapers and removing cavities with hand instruments. The filling materials used then were tin, gold foil, lead and silver. Dentures were carved from ivory or fashioned from the teeth of cattle.

In the past century, human life expectancy has almost doubled and immense changes in quality of life have occurred. Some of the changes that have had a positive impact on dentistry include increased emphasis on personal hygiene; availability of antibiotics, vaccines, fluoridation; improved diets, electricity and heating, the X-ray, the telephone, computers and the Internet. Present day dental accomplishments include the use of silver and white fillings, fluoridation, air abrasion techniques for the filling of cavities, and more


Dental Timeline

2900 - Egyptian lower jaw demonstrates two holes drilled through the bone, presumably to drain an abscessed tooth. Egyptians were the first to designate a doctor that specializes in treating teeth.

2700 - Evidence that the Chinese used acupuncture to treat pain associated with tooth decay.

1700 - Ancient Egyptian papers, the Ebers papyrus, which contains material dating back as far as 3700 BCE, contains references to diseases of the teeth, as well as prescriptions for substances to be mixed and applied to the mouth to relieve pain.

1300 - Aesculapius, a Greek physician, credited by many with the concept of extracting diseased teeth.

500 - Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote of ointments and sterilization procedures using a red hot wire to treat diseases of the teeth and oral tissues. They also spoke of tooth extraction and the use of wires to stabilize jaw fractures and bind loose teeth.

1728 a.d. - Pierre Fauchard published his master work, "The Surgeon Dentist", which described for the first time a vision of dentistry as a modern profession.

1816 a.d. - Auguste Taveau, Paris, developed first dental amalgam (fillings from silver coins mixed with mercury).

1839 a.d. - Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanized rubber. This discovery made denture bases, previously made out of gold, affordable for the average person. Before that time, dental care was typically reserved for the upper class.

1840 a.d. - Dentist Horace Wells first demonstrated nitrous oxide for sedation.

1840 a.d. - Dentist Thomas Morton first demonstrated ether anesthesia for surgery.

1840 a.d. - Dentist Thomas Morton first demonstrated ether anesthesia for surgery.

1840 a.d. - in Baltimore was founded the first dental school in the world

1871 a.d. - James Beall Morrison patented the first mechanized dental drill, which allowed people to view dentistry as a streamlined profession. This drill twirled very slowly and a filling could take several hours to complete.

1890s a.d. American dentist Willoughby Miller in Germany first described the microbial basis of dental cavities, which initially raised cavity prevention awareness, and led the way for oral care companies to market at-home oral health care products.

1895 a.d. - Wilhelm Roentgen discovered x-radiation (x-rays).

1895 a.d. - G.V. Black standardized both cavity preparation and manufacturing

1896 a.d. - Toothpaste tube introduced by Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield

1945 a.d. - Grand Rapids, MI, first city in the world to fluoridate drinking water.

1955 a.d. - Michael Buonocore invented white (composite) fillings. He also described a method of bonding resin to tooth enamel, enabling dentists to repair cracked enamel on front teeth.

1957 a.d. - John Borden invented a high speed air-driven hand piece, increasing drill power from the traditional 5,000 rpm to 300,000 rpm, which shortened the time to prepare a tooth for a filling to a matter of minutes.

1980's a.d. - Per Ingvar Branemark described techniques for dental implants