The history of dental treatments dates back to thousands of years. [1] [2] The scope of this article is limited to the pre-1981 history.
The earliest known example of dental caries manipulation is found in a Paleolithic man, dated between 14,160 and 13,820 BP. [3] The earliest known use of a filling after removal of decayed or infected pulp is found in a Paleolithic who lived near modern-day Tuscany, Italy, from 13,000 to 12,740 BP. [4] Although inconclusive, researchers have suggested that rudimentary dental procedures have been performed as far back as 130,000 years ago by Neanderthals. [5]
Two dentists are considered to have changed the history of dental treatments:
Ambroise Paré (c. 1510 – 1590) was a French barber surgeon who served in that role for Kings of France Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. He is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds.
Pierre Fauchard (1679 – 1761) [6] is credited as being the "father of modern dentistry". [7] He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, Le Chirurgien Dentiste ("The Surgeon Dentist"), published in 1728. [7] The book described basic oral anatomy and function, signs and symptoms of oral pathology, operative methods for removing decay and restoring teeth, periodontal disease (pyorrhea), orthodontics, replacement of missing teeth, and tooth transplantation.
Regarding implants, one of the milestone progress is osseointegration which was termed in 1981 by Tomas Albrektsson. [8]
There is archeological evidence that humans have attempted to replace missing teeth with root form implants for thousands of years. Remains from ancient China (dating 4000 years ago) have carved bamboo pegs, tapped into the bone, to replace lost teeth, and 2000-year-old remains from ancient Egypt have similarly shaped pegs made of precious metals. Some Egyptian mummies were found to have transplanted human teeth, and in other instances, teeth made of ivory. [1] : 26 [2] [9] Etruscans produced the first pontics using single gold bands as early as 630 BC and perhaps earlier. [10] [11] Wilson Popenoe and his wife in 1931, at a site in Honduras dating back to 600 AD, found the lower mandible of a young Mayan woman, with three missing incisors replaced by pieces of sea shells, shaped to resemble teeth. [12] Bone growth around two of the implants, and the formation of calculus, indicates that they were functional as well as esthetic. The fragment is currently part of the Osteological Collection of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. [1] [2]
In modern times, a tooth replica implant was reported as early as 1969, but the polymethacrylate tooth analogue was encapsulated by soft tissue rather than osseointegrated. [13]
The early part of the 20th century saw a number of implants made of a variety of materials. One of the earliest successful implants was the Greenfield implant system of 1913 (also known as the Greenfield crib or basket). [14] Greenfield's implant, an iridioplatinum implant attached to a gold crown, showed evidence of osseointegration and lasted for a number of years. [14] The first use of titanium as an implantable material was by Bothe, Beaton and Davenport in 1940, who observed how close the bone grew to titanium screws, and the difficulty they had in extracting them. [15] Bothe et al. were the first researchers to describe what would later be called osseointegration (a name that would later be marketed by Per-Ingvar Brånemark). In 1951, Gottlieb Leventhal implanted titanium rods in rabbits. [16] Leventhal's positive results led him to believe that titanium represented the ideal metal for surgery. [16]
In the 1950s research was being conducted at Cambridge University in England on blood flow in living organisms. These workers devised a method of constructing a chamber of titanium which was then embedded into the soft tissue of the ears of rabbits. In 1952 the Swedish orthopaedic surgeon, Per-Ingvar Brånemark, was interested in studying bone healing and regeneration. During his research time at Lund University he adopted the Cambridge-designed "rabbit ear chamber" for use in the rabbit femur. Following the study, he attempted to retrieve these expensive chambers from the rabbits and found that he was unable to remove them. Brånemark observed that bone had grown into such close proximity with the titanium that it effectively adhered to the metal. Brånemark carried out further studies into this phenomenon, using both animal and human subjects, which all confirmed this unique property of titanium.[ citation needed ] Leonard Linkow, in the 1950s, was one of the first to insert titanium and other metal implants into the bones of the jaw. Artificial teeth were then attached to these pieces of metal. [17] In 1965 Brånemark placed his first titanium dental implant into a human volunteer. He began working in the mouth as it was more accessible for continued observations and there was a high rate of missing teeth in the general population offered more subjects for widespread study. He termed the clinically observed adherence of bone with titanium as "osseointegration". [18] : 626 Since then implants have evolved into three basic types:
Ceramic implants made from alumina were introduced between 1960s and 1970s but were eventually withdrawn from the market in the early 1990s because they presented some biomechanical problems (like low fracture toughness) and were replaced by zirconia implants. [22]
Robot-assisted dental surgery, including for dental implants, [23] has also been developed in the 2000s. [24]
As early as the 7th century BC, Etruscans in northern Italy made partial dentures out of human or other animal teeth fastened together with gold bands. [26] [27] The Romans had likely borrowed this technique by the 5th century BC. [26] [28]
Wooden full dentures were invented in Japan around the early 16th century. [25] Softened beeswax was inserted into the patient's mouth to create an impression, which was then filled with harder beeswax. Wooden dentures were then meticulously carved based on that model. The earliest of these dentures were entirely wooden, but later versions used natural human teeth or sculpted pagodite, ivory, or animal horn for the teeth. These dentures were built with a broad base, exploiting the principles of adhesion to stay in place. This was an advanced technique for the era; it would not be replicated in the West until the late 18th century. Wooden dentures continued to be used in Japan until the Opening of Japan to the West in the 19th century. [25]
In 1579 gold and silver dentures were created by the barber-dentist Ambroise Paré for the French King Charles IX. Ambroise Paré is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds. [28] In 1728, Pierre Fauchard described the construction of dentures using a metal frame and teeth sculpted from animal bone. [25] The first porcelain dentures were made around 1770 by Alexis Duchâteau. In 1791, the first British patent was granted to Nicholas Dubois De Chemant, previous assistant to Duchateau, for 'De Chemant's Specification':
[...] a composition for the purpose of making of artificial teeth either single double or in rows or in complete sets, and also springs for fastening or affixing the same in a more easy and effectual manner than any hitherto discovered which said teeth may be made of any shade or colour, which they will retain for any length of time and will consequently more perfectly resemble the natural teeth. [29]
He began selling his wares in 1792, with most of his porcelain paste supplied by Wedgwood. [30] [31]
17th century London's Peter de la Roche is believed to be one of the first 'operators for the teeth', men who advertised themselves as specialists in dental work. They were often professional goldsmiths, ivory turners or students of barber-surgeons. [32]
In 1820, Samuel Stockton, a goldsmith by trade, began manufacturing high-quality porcelain dentures mounted on 18-carat gold plates. Later dentures from the 1850s on were made of Vulcanite, a form of hardened rubber into which porcelain teeth were set. In the 20th century, acrylic resin and other plastics were used. [33] In Britain, sequential Adult Dental Health Surveys revealed that in 1968 79% of those aged 65–74 had no natural teeth; by 1998, this proportion had fallen to 36%. [34]
George Washington (1732–1799) had problems with his teeth throughout his life, and historians have tracked his experiences in great detail. [35] He lost his first adult tooth when he was twenty-two and had only one left by the time he became president. [36] John Adams says he lost them because he used them to crack Brazil nuts but modern historians suggest mercury oxide, which he was given to treat illnesses such as smallpox and malaria, probably contributed to the loss. He had several sets of false teeth made, four of them by a dentist named John Greenwood. None of the sets, contrary to popular belief, were made from wood or contained any wood. [37] The set made when he became president were carved from hippopotamus and elephant ivory, held together with gold springs. [38] Prior to these, he had a set made with real human teeth, [39] likely ones he purchased from "several unnamed Negroes, presumably Mount Vernon slaves" in 1784. [40] Washington's dental problems left him in constant pain, for which he took laudanum. [41] This distress may be apparent in many of the portraits painted while he was still in office, [41] including the one still used on the $1 bill. [42] [lower-alpha 1]
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) had dental problems from an early age, resulting from the repeated vomiting that was a feature of his life-long illness and the seasickness he suffered when aboard HMS Beagle. Like patients today with repeated vomiting, the regurgitation of gastric acid would have caused tooth erosions. When the Beagle was in Hobart (1836) he visited a local dental practitioner, Henry Jeanneret (1802–1886) and earlier in the voyage (1833) he recorded that he needed a denture to be repaired. [43] Later in life (1852) he had five 'grinders' (molars) removed under chloroform, and his is one of the first records of this substance being used as an anaesthetic in dentistry.
3D printing
There have been significant advances in the field of dentistry within the past 50 years[ as of? ] due to the use and development of 3D printing and imaging. These innovations include stereolithography and digital light processing. [44]
Stereolithography
The stereolithography (SLA) technique was developed by Charles Hull and patented in 1986. The technology was originally developed for manufacturing use, and has been applied to a multitude of fields. [44] Common applications for this technology in dentistry include but are not limited to modeling, temporary prosthetics, retainers, aligners, and orthodontic models.
An ultraviolet (UV) laser is used to cure a liquid polymer resin into layers. This liquid polymer is then held in a container as the laser polymerizes the layers of resin. This process is repeated layer by layer, and the finished product is refined and hardened in an UV oven or a solvent bath. [45]
Digital light processing
Digital light processing (DLP) was created shortly after SLA technology in 1987, at Texas Instruments. The SLA and DLP methods are very similar, but the DLP method has a couple key process characteristics that differ. Applications of this technology include custom dental molds and models, as well as custom-fit medical equipment. [46]
DLP utilizes 3D printing machines that accept computer-aided design (CAD) files and .STL files. The process starts with the build platform being lowered into a vat of liquid resin. A digital light source is then used to harden each layer. The light source cures the resin, and the layers build on top of each other until they are eventually removed from the printer. The resin that is typically used is thermosetting resin, which is cured when exposed to a light source. DLP printers are efficient in that each coordinate in a layer is cured simultaneously. [46]
Dental applications of 3D printing technology
Toothbuds that resemble real teeth have been 3D printed. [47] Other applications include dental modeling, digital orthodontics, medical modeling, drilling and cutting guides, and partial denture frameworks. [48]
Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable. However, there are many denture designs, some of which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental implants. There are two main categories of dentures, the distinction being whether they fit onto the mandibular arch or on the maxillary arch.
Dental braces are devices used in orthodontics that align and straighten teeth and help position them with regard to a person's bite, while also aiming to improve dental health. They are often used to correct underbites, as well as malocclusions, overbites, open bites, gaps, deep bites, cross bites, crooked teeth, and various other flaws of the teeth and jaw. Braces can be either cosmetic or structural. Dental braces are often used in conjunction with other orthodontic appliances to help widen the palate or jaws and to otherwise assist in shaping the teeth and jaws.
Cosmetic dentistry is generally used to refer to any dental work that improves the appearance of teeth, gums and/or bite. It primarily focuses on improvement in dental aesthetics in color, position, shape, size, alignment and overall smile appearance. Many dentists refer to themselves as "cosmetic dentists" regardless of their specific education, specialty, training, and experience in this field. This has been considered unethical with a predominant objective of marketing to patients. The American Dental Association does not recognize cosmetic dentistry as a formal specialty area of dentistry. However, there are still dentists that promote themselves as cosmetic dentists.
Dental restoration, dental fillings, or simply fillings are treatments used to restore the function, integrity, and morphology of missing tooth structure resulting from caries or external trauma as well as to the replacement of such structure supported by dental implants. They are of two broad types—direct and indirect—and are further classified by location and size. A root canal filling, for example, is a restorative technique used to fill the space where the dental pulp normally resides.
A dental technician is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances.
A dental implant is a prosthesis that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge, denture, or facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodontic anchor. The basis for modern dental implants is a biological process called osseointegration, in which materials such as titanium or zirconia form an intimate bond to the bone. The implant fixture is first placed so that it is likely to osseointegrate, then a dental prosthetic is added. A variable amount of healing time is required for osseointegration before either the dental prosthetic is attached to the implant or an abutment is placed which will hold a dental prosthetic or crown.
Osseointegration is the direct structural and functional connection between living bone and the surface of a load-bearing artificial implant. A more recent definition defines osseointegration as "functional ankylosis ", where new bone is laid down directly on the implant surface and the implant exhibits mechanical stability. Osseointegration has enhanced the science of medical bone and joint replacement techniques as well as dental implants and improving prosthetics for amputees.
Hypodontia is defined as the developmental absence of one or more teeth excluding the third molars. It is one of the most common dental anomalies, and can have a negative impact on function, and also appearance. It rarely occurs in primary teeth and the most commonly affected are the adult second premolars and the upper lateral incisors. It usually occurs as part of a syndrome that involves other abnormalities and requires multidisciplinary treatment.
A dental emergency is an issue involving the teeth and supporting tissues that are of high importance to be treated by the relevant professional. Dental emergencies do not always involve pain, although this is a common signal that something needs to be looked at. Pain can originate from the tooth, surrounding tissues or can have the sensation of originating in the teeth but be caused by an independent source. Depending on the type of pain experienced an experienced clinician can determine the likely cause and can treat the issue as each tissue type gives different messages in a dental emergency.
Toothlessness or edentulism is the condition of having no teeth. In organisms that naturally have teeth, it is the result of tooth loss. Organisms that never possessed teeth can also be described as edentulous. Examples are the members of the former zoological classification order of Edentata, which included anteaters and sloths, as they possess no anterior teeth and no or poorly developed posterior teeth.
Nobel Biocare is a Swiss company originally founded in Sweden for manufacturing dental implants. It is now headquartered in Kloten, Switzerland near the Zürich Airport. Nobel Biocare in its current form was founded in 2002. It originates from a partnership formed in 1978 between Swedish medical researcher Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark and Bofors, a Swedish company, to industrialize Brånemark's discovery of osseointegration. Beside dental implants, it also presently develops and commercializes CAD/CAM-based prosthetics equipments to scan teeth and to fabricate individualized dental prosthesis using digital technologies in place of silicone molding.
A denturist in the United States and Canada, clinical dental technologist in the United Kingdom and Ireland, dental prosthetist in Australia, or a clinical dental technician in New Zealand is a member of the oral health care team and role as primary oral health care provider who provides an oral health examination, planning treatment, takes impressions of the surrounding oral tissues, constructs and delivers removable oral prosthesis treatment directly to the patient.
CAD/CAM dentistry is a field of dentistry and prosthodontics using CAD/CAM to improve the design and creation of dental restorations, especially dental prostheses, including crowns, crown lays, veneers, inlays and onlays, fixed dental prostheses (bridges), dental implant supported restorations, dentures, and orthodontic appliances. CAD/CAM technology allows the delivery of a well-fitting, aesthetic, and a durable prostheses for the patient. CAD/CAM complements earlier technologies used for these purposes by any combination of increasing the speed of design and creation; increasing the convenience or simplicity of the design, creation, and insertion processes; and making possible restorations and appliances that otherwise would have been infeasible. Other goals include reducing unit cost and making affordable restorations and appliances that otherwise would have been prohibitively expensive. However, to date, chairside CAD/CAM often involves extra time on the part of the dentist, and the fee is often at least two times higher than for conventional restorative treatments using lab services.
Per-Ingvar Brånemark was a Swedish physician and researcher, known as the "father of modern dental implantology". The Brånemark Osseointegration Center (BOC), named after its founder, was founded in 1989 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
A dental prosthesis is an intraoral prosthesis used to restore (reconstruct) intraoral defects such as missing teeth, missing parts of teeth, and missing soft or hard structures of the jaw and palate. Prosthodontics is the dental specialty that focuses on dental prostheses. Such prostheses are used to rehabilitate mastication (chewing), improve aesthetics, and aid speech. A dental prosthesis may be held in place by connecting to teeth or dental implants, by suction, or by being held passively by surrounding muscles. Like other types of prostheses, they can either be fixed permanently or removable; fixed prosthodontics and removable dentures are made in many variations. Permanently fixed dental prostheses use dental adhesive or screws, to attach to teeth or dental implants. Removal prostheses may use friction against parallel hard surfaces and undercuts of adjacent teeth or dental implants, suction using the mucous retention, and by exploiting the surrounding muscles and anatomical contours of the jaw to passively hold in place.
The term All-on-4, also known as All-on-Four and All-in-Four, refers to 'all' teeth being supported 'on four' dental implants, a prosthodontics procedure for total rehabilitation of the edentulous (toothless) patient, or for patients with badly broken down teeth, decayed teeth, or compromised teeth due to gum disease. It consists of the rehabilitation of either edentulous or dentate maxilla and / or mandible with fixed prosthesis by placing four implants in the anterior maxilla, where bone density is higher. The four implants support a fixed prosthesis with 10 to 14 teeth, and it is placed immediately, typically within 24 hours of surgery.
Daniel Y. Sullivan was an American dentist, prosthodontist, author, and teacher credited with helping to bring the practice of osseointegrated dental implants, or the fusion of bone and titanium inside the mouth, to the United States. He worked alongside Swedish pioneer Per-Ingvar Brånemark to insert the U.S.’s first osseointegrated dental implants in 1982. In later years, he taught the technique to thousands of dentists, served as president of two prestigious dental membership organizations, and co-wrote one of the first textbooks in the United States on the subject of esthetic dental implants.
Overdenture is any removable dental prosthesis that covers and rests on one or more remaining natural teeth, the roots of natural teeth, and/or dental implants. It is one of the most practical measures used in preventive dentistry. Overdentures can be either tooth supported or implant supported. It is found to help in the preservation of alveolar bone and delay the process of complete edentulism.
Tooth transplantation is mainly divided into two types:
Full arch restoration in dentistry refers to the comprehensive reconstruction or rehabilitation of an entire dental arch, which can include all teeth in the upper or lower jaw. This procedure is also known as full mouth reconstruction or full mouth rehabilitation.