The history of dentistry spans more than 2500 years, from the appearance of the first dentists in history to, just one hundred years ago, the first electric toothbrush.
Below, the most important milestones of this journey of dental innovation.
Oral history
2600 BC C.: The first dentist. An inscription on the tomb of the doctor Hesy-Re includes the title "the greatest of those who treat with teeth."
1700-1500 BC C.: The first treatise on Dentistry. He Ebers papyrus It is the oldest known description of dental diseases and remedies for toothache.
700 BC C.: The first false teeth. The Etruscans, an ancient civilization that lived in the territory of modern-day Italy, made false teeth from the remains of humans and animals.
1530: The first book of Dentistry. Artzney Büchlein writes Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth.
1780: The first toothbrush: William Addis, from the United Kingdom, makes the first modern toothbrush. He made the first prototype with bristles and pig bone while in prison for rioting.
1790: The first dentist's chair: Josiah Flagg, from the United States, builds the first chair designed for dental offices. The Wilkerson chair, the first hydraulic dentist's chair, appears in 1877.
1880: The first tube of toothpaste. Maxillofacial surgeon Washington Sheffield, from the United States, invented the folding metal tube.
1885: The first dental assistant. C. Edmund Kells, a prominent dentist in New Orleans, hired Malvina Cueria to help him in his work.
1896: The first dental x-ray. Kells also becomes the first dentist to take a dental radiograph (X-ray) of a living patient.
1927: The first electric toothbrush. The Electro Massage Toothbrush Company manufactures its first model; In 1961, cordless and rechargeable versions would follow.
–
The news
From the first dentist to the first electric toothbrush
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.