A History of Dentistry

Dental care has developed greatly over thousands of years, with most scientific developments occurring in the last few centuries. Dr. Kenneth Pollary and our team would like to educate you about dental history in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The first reference to a dental practitioner appeared on Egyptian scribe Hesy-Re’s tomb in 2600 BC: “the greatest of those who deal with teeth.” Around 500 to 300 BC, Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about treatments for several dental issues, including decayed teeth and gum disease.

Before the 1700s, not much is known about dentistry. However, we do know that in France, lay barbers treated many dental problems with tooth extraction.

In 1723, Pierre Fauchard published The Surgeon Dentist, A Treatise on Teeth, which included a comprehensive description of the practice of dentistry. Dr. Fauchard has since been named the Father of Modern Dentistry.

During the 1800s, the American Dental Association was founded in Niagara Falls, NY. This century also included the discovery of the X-ray.

There were many discoveries the 1900s, such as Novocain. Lasers were developed for use in soft tissue procedures. New tooth-colored materials led to the development of aesthetic dentistry.

Celebrate the achievements in dentistry by scheduling your next checkup with our dentist at Pollary Family Dentistry.