Dentistry is the art or science of cleaning and extracting teeth, of repairing them when diseased, and replacing them when necessary by artificial ones. There are two very distinct departments in dentistry, the one being dental surgery, the other what is known as mechanical dentistry.
The first requires an extended medical knowledge on the part of the practitioner, as, for instance, a knowledge of diseases whose effects may reach the teeth, of the connection between the welfare of the teeth and the general system, etc, as well as ability to discern latent oral diseases, calculate the effects of operations, etc. The chief operations in this department are scaling, or removing the tartar which has accumulated on the base of the teeth; regulating, the restoring of overcrowded and displaced teeth to their proper position; stopping or stuffing, the filling up of the hollow of a decayed tooth and thus preventing the progress of decay; extracting, a process requiring considerable muscular power and delicacy of manipulation.
The second department, mechanical dentistry, is concerned with the construction of artificial substitutes for lost teeth, and requires much mechanical science, it being a very delicate work to give artificial teeth a perfectly natural appearance in shape and colour. The actual construction of the teeth, however, has passed largely into the hands of the manufacturers, and the dentist has only the selecting, fitting, and fixing to do.
Until the start of the 19th century no special curriculum or collegiate certificate was obtainable by practitioners of dentistry in Britain, who thus held an anomalous and altogether unrecognized position in the medical profession. This was partially remedied in 1858, when the dental certificate of the College of Surgeons of England was established for such as chose to pass the required examination. Finally, in 1878 an act was passed regulating the education and registration of dentists, by which a course of instruction in various branches of medicine and surgery with a corresponding examination was made necessary for all who wish to be registered as dental practitioners. In the United States the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery is the oldest, being chartered in 1839. The Ohio College of Dental Surgery followed in 1845, and various others have been established since. Research Dentistry
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Medicine
Research Dentistry
