Dentistry: from rough to smart revolution

Teeth are the hardest organ of human beings and one of the most troublesome. Dentistry has undergone numerous "polishing" transformations, from the initial manual operation based on experience to the present intelligent treatment by means of electronic high technology, from the past focus on removing worms and treating diseases to the present multifunctional combination of prevention and treatment of dental diseases and medical aesthetics, the development has not stopped.

Budding period: protection of teeth from ancient times

As early as 5000 B.C., the Sumerians had a written record of "dental worms" that could cause tooth decay. From 1700 to 1550 B.C., various treatments for dental diseases were also recorded in ancient Egyptian medical texts.

In 500-300 BC, Hippocrates and Aristotle in ancient Greece wrote a lot of studies about dentistry, such as the order of tooth eruption, the treatment of tooth decay and gum disease, how to extract teeth and fix loose teeth. Moreover, Hippocrates also wrote a special book on the dentist's pliers, the "father of medicine" of dental research has been fine to the tool, can be said that the "technical geek"!

From 166 to 201 A.D., people in Etruria (now central Italy) used gold crowns to fill teeth and fixed bridges to straighten teeth. Although the tools and equipment belong to the "original" level, but still have a certain correction, cosmetic effect, showing the ancient people's love of beauty.

Good or bad teeth is an important sign of a person's health or not. In ancient China, before the showgirls entered the palace, whether the teeth are neat, whether the mouth has a bad smell is one of the most basic inspection items. In ancient Rome, the tycoons who bought servants also had to see if their teeth were healthy in order to protect their labor capacity. The picture below shows a scene of a dentist pulling teeth on the streets of China in the late Qing Dynasty.

Health care upgrade period: the changing use of new equipment

With the development of dentistry, more and more therapeutic tools were used: in the 11th century, the Arabian physician Arbokassis described his own invention of tartar removal tools, and from then on, dentistry was no longer just about extracting teeth and treating cavities, but also began to focus on dental hygiene conditions and preventing dental diseases.

In the 17th century, the toothbrush became the most trendy household item in England, before that, people only used mint water or water to rinse their mouth and mint leaves to brush their teeth. After the toothbrush became popular, other dental cleaning products, such as toothpaste and scouring powder appeared one after another, and almost everyone became their own dental guardian, and dental science became increasingly important. The way tooth extraction was done in those days was as follows.

In 1790, the British doctor Greenwood invented the dental drill; in 1797, Dr. Thomas, M.D., applied for the first U.S. dental instrument patent for the "vertical tooth extractor", and the development of dentistry entered the process of scientific and commercialization, and the mass production of dental equipment began in New York. 1896, X-rays were used for the first time in the dentist's clinical practice, and the diagnosis and screening of dental diseases became more professional and precise (below). .

At the same time, people began to pursue the overall aesthetics of teeth, and in the late 19th century and early 20th century, American scholar Edward H. Anger developed orthodontics into an important branch of dentistry and invented many orthodontic tools, which became the prototype of modern dental instruments.

Above is the modern dental instruments. 1、Mouth mirror: used for oral examination to observe the teeth and oral cavity at different angles, also can be used to push the tongue. 2、Probe: used to probe the defects, fissures, cavities, etc. on the teeth. 3、Tweezers: check the bad teeth and clamping dressings, instruments, etc. 4、Filler: used to repair the defects on the teeth, the pointed end picks the filling material, the round head tamp the material in the cavity. 5、Pick Digger: digging out necrotic and useless tissues. 6、Bilanoma syringe: used for oral anesthesia, special injection needle is very thin, only 0.3~0.5mm in diameter, no pain will be felt when entering the needle, with finger ring to facilitate one-handed operation.

The above figure is the extractor forceps: beak and shank into a straight line is the upper dental forceps (1 and 3), the shank is S-shaped purpose is to enable the dental forceps to avoid the corners of the mouth, upper teeth and mandibular blockage. The rostrum and shank are at right angles to the lower dental pliers (2), also to avoid the corners of the mouth and the upper teeth. Tooth jaws (4): used to jaw the teeth loose before extraction to facilitate extraction of teeth.

Modern period: electronic technology combined with cosmetic

Modern dental technology and equipment are not what they used to be, especially since modern people's demand for teeth is not only healthy, but also cosmetic needs such as whitening, orthodontics, and changing the lines of the face.

In the past decade, European and American dentistry started to use electronic high technology, such as 3D dental implant technology and digital orthodontic scanner. With 3D technology, doctors can know the specific oral structure of different people and no longer rely on experience; all-porcelain restoration technology can help those who suffer from tetracycline teeth and unclean teeth to replace a mouthful of white teeth; the use of laser, without cold instruments can treat root canals, periodontal disease and teeth whitening for patients (the next two pictures).

People's pursuit of dental health and beauty has been driving the progress and development of dentistry.