Dentistry in the16th and 17th Century

Overview : The Renaissance

Was characterized by printing methods, discovery of America, the rise of humanism, the reawakening of experimental method, and the discovery of original texts of the classics.

In medicine- the medical classics were beautifully printed, and the clinical study of patient began. Anatomy, physiology, pathology, and surgery came to the forefront.

Hmm.. what was dentistry like during the

Renaissance in England??...

Dental hygiene-in the mid 16th

century, most people used Rosemary Charcoal to maintain the cleanliness of their teeth.

“For teeth that are yellow, take sage and salt, and stamp them well together, then bake till it be hard, and make a fine powder thereof, then rub the teeth evening and morning.”

Sage tooth whitening scrub

“Until the discovery of the New World in the late 15th century, Europeans hungered for sugar. During the Renaissance period in England, the wealthy bought sugary foods and average person could not afford sugar.”

Once upon a time in England…

“Even in Europe’s early Renaissance courts, the wealthy and powerful regarded the refined sweetener as a delicious extravagance…

..this led to tooth decay at a much higher rate for nobility than the peasants who worked for them”

“ Her face, it is and appears to be very aged. It is long and thin, and her teeth are very yellow and unequal, compared with what they were formerly, so they say, on the left side less than of the right. Many of them are missing so that one cannot understand her easily when she speaks quickly.”

Queen Elizabeth of England

- Andre Hurault-Sieur de Maisse, 1597( French ambassador to Elizabeth’s court)

Fun Fact!!Don’t you know that Queen Elizabeth stuffed rags into her mouth to prevent appearing as though she had hollow cheeks?

LOL!!!

a. barbers

b. wig makers

c. blacksmiths

d. persons who put shoes on horses

Type of person who extractsteeth during Renaissance:

Lay barbers - professional

tooth extractors during

Renaissance.

Dental tools used in Renaissance Period :

Dental Pelican (1600s)• named because of their resemblance to a

pelican’s beak

• were tooth extraction tools used from the

14th century through the late 18th century.

• examples like this French or Italian pelican

consisted of a rotating claw mounted on a

shaft in an adjustable slot.

Dental Forceps (1600s)• used in grasping and extracting teeth —

this 17th century Italian pair being more

rudimentary than modern examples.

Oral Speculum (1600s)• used to open a body cavity for investigation

or medical procedures.

• This model of oral speculum worked like a

reverse vise, with the screw prying open

the patient’s mouth for easy access.

Dental Mouth Gag (1500s)• used to keep patients’ mouth open during

procedures.

• This 16th century gag uses wing nuts to

open and close the handles and lock them in

place.

• It could have also been used to pry open the

mouths of patients suffering from lockjaw.

“Key People and Events

of the Renaissance”

Howdy Humans! I am Leonardo Da Vinci and I’m the 1st to dissect human cadavers for anatomical knowledge. I accurately drew the skull, teeth and associated parts realizing normal occlusion. I also described maxillary & frontal sinuses.

1452-1519

An anatomist who gave us the

terms: hard palate and soft palate.

Best described the trigeminal,

auditory, and glossopharyngeal

nerves,

Discovered the chorda tympani,

semicircular canals and sphenoidal

sinus.

GABRIELE FALLOPE 1523-1562

Was the greatest anatomist of the age.

His name was associated with dental anatomy, dental follicle, and dental eruption.

His work, De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septum (Fabric of the Human Body) was published in 1543.

Andreas Vesalius (1513-1564)

Describes for the first time

the anatomy and function of

the dental pulp cavity.

Counted teeth as bones.

Ambrose Paré (1510-1564)

He was the father of Modern Surgery

and French barber surgery.

He popularized the use of

ligatures, and he was famous for

devising artificial limbs and palatal

obturators.

• Introduced the lancing of

infants' gums using a lancet or

scalpel during teething.

• He described proper tooth

extraction, transplantation,

and artificial teeth of bone

and ivory.

Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1676) was the first to describe the relationship of tooth infractions and joint disturbances.

Hello future dentists!

I am Hieronymous Fabricius and I’ve described dental operations of this period : feeding of the patient with closure of the jaws, cleaning teeth, treatment of the dental decay, filling cavities with gold leaf, resection of irregular teeth, filling uneven or sharp teeth, and extraction.

1537-1619

Described gold leaf for filling material; but advised it to be done by specialists- not barbers or quacks.

Giovanni di Vigo (1460-1520)

Bartolome Eustachi (1520-1574)

• Eustachius was the first to

publish a treatise on dental

anatomy, Libellus de Dentibus in

1563.

• Elucidation of the periodontal

membrane

• Explained the difference between

enamel and dentin

• the first to describe the dental

pulp and its role in sensation

within the teeth.

Libellus de dentibus- published at Venice in 1563, the

book about teeth.

-it is the first treatise ever written

on the anatomy of teeth, and

represents a note worthy progress in

this branch of study

Gian Filippo Ingrassia (1510-1580)

- first who spoke of the

dental “Germ”.

17th Century

Pierre Fauchard-The father of modern Dentistry

-introduced dental filling as treatment for dental cavities.

-asserted that sugar derivate acids like tartaric acid were responsible for dental decay.

-suggested that tumors surrounding the teeth, in gums, could appear in the later stages of tooth decay.

-was the pioneer of dental prosthesis, and he discovered many methods to replace lost teeth.

-suggested that substitute could be made from carved blocks of Ivory or Bone.

-introduced dental braces (made of gold) because he discovered that teeth position could be corrected as the teeth would follow pattern of the wires.

Don’t you know??Waxed linen or silk threads were usually employed to fasten the braces before

Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)- the first maker of powerful

microscopesand the father of Microbiology

-he discovered the tubular structure of the dentine or tooth bone.

-He said that 600 to 700 of the dentinal tubuli have hardly the consistence of one hair of a beard

Johann Schultes (1595-1645)-was the author of a very important work entitled Armamentarium

Chirurgicum, in which are given plates and descriptions of almost all the

surgical instruments that had been use up to that date.

Schultes instruments in his book:

•Several kinds of pelicans

•The common dental forceps (cognolo)

•The crow’s beak forceps (rostrum corvinum)

•Two special dental forceps (dentiduces)

•Bifid and trifid elevators (vectes bifidi et trifidi)

•Dentiscalpia

•A silver funnel or cannula (Infundibulum seu

fistula argentea)

•Forceps more or less like in form to the beak

of the parrot or the vulture(rotrum psittacinum et

vulturinum)

•A screw dilator(dilatatorium cum cochlea)

The End

Thanks, Xandra