The history of ... Part 1

Oct 21, 2009

Editor's note: Jimmy Earll (not his real name) is a practicing dentist in Northern California and a stand-up comic who performs all over North America. His column, Laughing Gas, appears regularly on the DrBicuspid.com advice and opinion page, Second Opinion.

Throughout history, our profession has had its ups and downs in terms of public perception and media portrayals. But we've come a long way, having evolved from barbers and blacksmiths offering a belt of whiskey to ease patients' pain to Cerec machines and lasers that don't require any anesthetic at all.

To put this somewhat in perspective, I was recently cleaning out my attic and stumbled across a book about the history of dentistry. Some of the pictures were too good not to share ... so, enjoy! (All images and captions from Dentistry: An Illustrated History, by Malvin E. Ring, D.D.S., Abradale Press.)

"In Rural areas of England and American colonies, the local blacksmith frequently served as the local dentist. Surrounded by the tools of his trade, a country tooth-drawer treats a patient in a painting of 1784, by Robert Dighton."

Why do they all have smiles on their faces? And what's the broom for? I think I'd charge an extra fee for the patient pinching my nose. Let's hope the kid at the window has good oral hygiene and never gets an abscess.

"An unusual trade card of 1830 advertises the dental rooms of Dr. Manson. The doctor apparently used something akin to gasoline as a painkiller, for general anesthetics did not come into use until the second half of the nineteenth century."

Hey, doc ... have you mastered that Benumbing Gasoline thing yet? Cuz my hair hasn't grown back since the fire mishap from my last visit.

"George Washington's last dental prosthesis was made for him by John Greenwood. The palate was swaged from a sheet of gold, and the ivory teeth were riveted to it. The lower denture consists of a single carved block of ivory. The two dentures were held together by steel springs."

Now, George … these things are gonna take a little getting used to …

"A dentist extracts a tooth with the help of his servant in this Russian cartoon of 1889."

The funny thing is, I think I've employed some women who could have done this for me. Now that's a team player!

More to come ...

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