John Zamet

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John Zamet

FDS
John Zamet.jpg
Born(1932-11-11)11 November 1932
London, England
Died5 May 2007(2007-05-05) (aged 74)
NationalityBritish
Education
OccupationPeriodontist
Known for
  • First periodontal practice in London, 1966
  • Holocaust studies
Medical career
Institutions

John Saville Zamet FDS (11 November 1932 - 5 May 2007) was a periodontist in the United Kingdom. He established the first exclusively periodontal practice in London in 1966.

Contents

After he retired, he attended the University College Hospital and took a course in Holocaust studies, leading him to write the biographies of refugee dental surgeons in the UK, and assess their skills as a missed opportunity for improving the ordinary quality of interwar British dental surgery. He died shortly after completing his PhD thesis on German and Austrian Refugee Dentists 1933–1945, The Response of The British Authorities in 2007. His PhD degree was awarded posthumously and his thesis remains unpublished.

Early life and career

John Zamet was born in London on 11 November 1932. [1]

In 1958, three years after completing his studies in dentistry at the Royal Dental Hospital (RDH), he obtained his fellowship in dental surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. [2]

With an interest in periodontology, between 1956 and 1962, he worked in the departments at the Eastman Dental Hospital, Guy's Hospital and the RDH. [2] At the time the subject was still in its infancy in the UK. Although in the US the speciality was long established, the first British academic department was only set up in 1948 at the Eastman Dental Hospital, under W. G. Cross. [3]

He went to America in 1962 on a post-graduate fellowship to study at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Periodontics. There he came under the influence of periodontologist D. Walter Cohen. [2]

Return to London and senior posts

On his return to the UK, Zamet was appointed senior lecturer at the RDH, and later consultant in periodontology at University College Hospital (UCH) Dental School. After the closure of the UCH school Zamet moved to the Eastman as honorary consultant in periodontology. He stayed there until he retired in 2001. [2]

Whilst at UCH and the Eastman, Zamet carried out several research projects. In 1974 he was awarded an MPhil degree by the University of London for his dissertation, A Comparative Clinical Study of Three Periodontal Surgical techniques, which examined clinical outcomes of surgical periodontal therapy. Other research was carried out into particulate bioglass grafts. [4] [5]

In 1966, Zamet established the first, and for many years the only, singularly periodontal practice in London. He was also the first UK periodontist to participate in the Brånemark Osseointegration Programme in Gothenburg. [2] [6] [7] This programme stemmed from when, in 1952 Per-Ingvar Brånemark put titanium-encased optical devices into the legs of rabbits to study the healing process. At the end of the research period, after removing the devices, they discovered unexpectedly that the titanium had fused into the bone and could not be removed. He called the process osseointegration. The toleration to long-term presence of titanium led to the potential for new research in using it to create an anchor for artificial teeth. [8]

Zamet pursued recognition for periodontology as a UK speciality and played an influential role in the establishment of the General Dental Council's Specialist Register in Periodontology. [9]

Other roles

Societies

He took up responsibilities in numerous societies, including President, Honorary Vice-president and Honorary Life Member of the British Society of Periodontology, a Life Member of the American Academy of Periodontology and an Honorary Member of the American Dental Society of London. [10]

Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity

At a time when Jewish students were not allowed to form social groups, a group of Jewish dental students founded The Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity in 1907 at the University of Maryland School of Dental Medicine, which claims to be the oldest international dental organisation and the oldest international Jewish medical organisation. It eventually incorporated over 100 alumni and student chapters in ten countries. [11]

Zamet became the first and twenty-fifth chairman of the London chapter of the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity, which sponsored numerous projects in the UK and Israel. He also served as secretary of its London Charitable Trust. [9]

At one time, he liaised with Walter Annenberg and obtained funding for postgraduate education and the Annenberg Lecture and Traveling Scholarship. [9]

Retirement and Holocaust studies

Zamet retired in 2001, following which he enrolled at University College London in Holocaust studies, [2] where he was a student of Michael Berkowitz. [12] After completing an MA, he furthered his studies by working on a PhD thesis on German and Austrian Refugee Dentists 1933–1945, The Response of The British Authorities. [2] In the 1930s and 1940s, displaced doctors searched the world for locations where their skills might be appreciated and where they could find a place of safety from worsening Nazi persecution. [13] As part of his thesis, in 2005, Zamet wrote to the British Dental Journal as he attempted to "reconstruct the history of this brave group of professionals, who despite the odds, succeeded in a foreign country which did not want them". [14]

He recreated the biographies of refugee dental surgeons, and assessed their qualifications and skills as a missed opportunity for improving the quantity and quality of interwar British dental surgery. As a result, he established many contacts with surviving refugees and their families, assembling a unique compilation of sources. [13] His research has been described by medical historian Paul Weindling as "outstanding" and "exceptional". [13] Zamet compared dental training at the University of Vienna with that in Britain in the 1930s, concluding that the "dilapidated state of British dental health and dentistry" at that time was a "cottage industry". [15] Despite demonstrating a British need for them, of the 360 Viennese dental surgeons (stomatologists) that applied to the General Medical Council (GMC) to register on the Dental Register, there being no General Dental Council until 1956, [16] only 41 were granted registration, and only after re-certification. Many of those disallowed registration and therefore denied entry to the UK, "despite their excellent training, probably died during the Holocaust" [15] or were led to suicide. [13]

Death and legacy

Weindling attributes the loss of records and lack of archival material on migrant practitioners in general to the delay in " Vergangenheitsbewältigung ", [13] that is, the coming to terms with the past. He consequently relates Zamet as a "pioneer" in this field and a historian of refugee dental surgeons, while other medical professionals have yet to find their historian. [13]

Zamet completed his PhD thesis in December 2006. He died on 5 May 2007, [17] and his PhD degree was awarded posthumously in 2007. [13]

In acknowledgement of his contributions to periodontology, in 2011 the London Chapter and Charitable Trust established a John Zamet Memorial Prize in Periodontal Research open to UK-based postgraduate dental students studying for a master's degree or PhD who are undertaking or who have recently completed original research associated with clinical periodontology. It is awarded every second year. [18]

Selected works

Book chapters

Articles

Unpublished

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Periodontal disease</span> Medical condition

Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums become swollen and red and may bleed. It is considered the main cause of tooth loss for adults worldwide. In its more serious form, called periodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or fall out. Bad breath may also occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dentist</span> Health care occupations caring for the mouth and teeth

A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in providing oral health services. The dental team includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and sometimes dental therapists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dental implant</span> Surgical component that interfaces with the bone of the jaw

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/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.

A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world.

Periodontology or periodontics is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, as well as diseases and conditions that affect them. The supporting tissues are known as the periodontium, which includes the gingiva (gums), alveolar bone, cementum, and the periodontal ligament. A periodontist is a dentist that specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease and in the placement of dental implants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buccal exostosis</span> Medical condition

A buccal exostosis is an exostosis on the buccal surface of the alveolar ridge of the maxilla or mandible. More commonly seen in the maxilla than the mandible, buccal exostoses are considered to be site specific. Existing as asymptomatic bony nodules, buccal exostoses don’t usually present until adult life, and some consider buccal exostoses to be a variation of normal anatomy rather than disease. Bone is thought to become hyperplastic, consisting of mature cortical and trabecular bone with a smooth outer surface. They are less common when compared with mandibular tori.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown lengthening</span>

Crown lengthening is a surgical procedure performed by a dentist, or more frequently a periodontist, where more tooth is exposed by removing some of the gingival margin (gum) and supporting bone. Crown lengthening can also be achieved orthodontically by extruding the tooth.

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Paul Julian Weindling is Wellcome Trust research professor in the history of medicine at Oxford Brookes University. He joined Oxford Brookes University in 1998 as Research Professor in the History of Medicine. From 1978 until 1998 he was at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at the University of Oxford. Following graduation from the University of Oxford, he completed an MA and PhD at University College London.

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References

  1. ↑ "John Saville Zamet - Ancestry.co.uk". search.ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Preiskel, H.; Floyd, P.; Needleman, I. (August 2007). "John Saville Zamet". British Dental Journal. 203 (4): 222. doi:10.1038/bdj.2007.736. ISSN   0007-0610. S2CID   2138860.
  3. ↑ Gelbier, Stanley (May 2004). "William George Cross, MBBS, MS, BA, LDS RCS, MRCS, LRCP, FDS: the influence of America". Dental Historian: Lindsay Club Newsletter (41): 7–18. ISSN   0958-6687. PMID   15495650.(subscription required)
  4. ↑ Zamet, J.S; Darbar, U. R.; Griffiths, G.S.; Bulman, J.S.; Bragger, U; Burgin, W.; Newman, H. N. (June 1997). "Particulate bioglassR as a grafting material in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects". Journal of Clinical Periodontology. 24 (6): 410–418. doi:10.1111/j.1600-051x.1997.tb00205.x. ISSN   0303-6979. PMID   9205920.
  5. ↑ Baino, Francesco (2017). "Ceramics for Bone Replacement: Commercial Products and Clinical Use". In Palmero, Paola; De Barra, Eamonn; Cambier, Francis (eds.). Advances in Ceramic Biomaterials: Materials, Devices and Challenges. Woodhead Publishing. p. 259. ISBN   978-0-08-100882-9.
  6. ↑ "The John Zamet Memorial Prize". BDJ. 210 (11): 511. 10 June 2011. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2011.453 . ISSN   0007-0610.
  7. ↑ Weindling, Paul (2007). Hammel, Andrea; Grenville, Anthony (eds.). Refugee Archives: Theory and Practice. Vol. 9. Rodopi. p. 148. ISBN   978-90-420-2407-6.
  8. ↑ "Per-Ingvar Branemark, Dental Innovator, Dies at 85". 27 December 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 Eder, Andrew (18 July 2011). "Celebrating the life of Dr John Zamet" (PDF). Dental Tribune: 9.
  10. 1 2 Prieskel, Harold; Floyd, Peter; Needleman, Ian (Winter 2007–2008). "Obituary- Dr John Saville Zamet" (PDF). BSP News: 6.
  11. ↑ Fraternity, Alpha Omega International Dental. "Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity". www.ao.org. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  12. ↑ Berkowitz, Prof. Michael (2007). The Crime of My Very Existence: Nazism and the Myth of Jewish Criminality. University of California Press. p. 24. ISBN   978-0-520-25112-0.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Weindling, Paul (1 December 2009). "Medical Refugees in Britain and the Wider World, 1930–1960: Introduction". Social History of Medicine. 22 (3): 451–459. doi:10.1093/shm/hkp098. ISSN   0951-631X. PMC   4496448 . PMID   26166947.
  14. ↑ Zamet, J (22 January 2005). "Forgotten dentists". British Dental Journal. 198 (3): 121. doi: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4812054 . ISSN   0007-0610. PMID   15706359.
  15. 1 2 Zamet, J. (29 October 2009). "The Anschluss and the Problem of Refugee Stomatologists". Social History of Medicine. 22 (3): 471–488. doi:10.1093/shm/hkp097. ISSN   0951-631X.
  16. ↑ "BBC NEWS| Health| GDC: Supporting dentists". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  17. ↑ Find a will. Gov.UK. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
  18. ↑ "John Zamet Prize | International Dental Fraternity | Alpha-Omega". Alpha Omega UK. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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