Fun Facts about Dentistry
By Susan Stype, Education Consultant Tutor Doctor Longmont
March 6th is Dentist’s Day. Dentist's Day is a day to display a big, toothy smile. After all, your Dentist plays a role in that big, bright smile. He's an important person in keeping your smile bright, and your teeth and mouth healthy.
1. Toothbrushes
were invented in China approximately 500 years ago. Before toothpaste was
invented about 100 years ago, people used other substances to clean their
teeth, including ashes, lemon juice, chalk and charcoal. The first tubes of toothpaste
were made of metal.
2. Dentists have created various
inventions related to tooth and mouth care over the years, including the
toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss, but a dentist is also responsible for
the invention of the electric chair. Alfred P. Southwick, a dentist and dental
educator, witnessed an accident in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1881 wherein a drunk man
died almost instantly after touching an electrical generator. He joined with
Buffalo doctor George Fell to experiment on electricity as a more humane means
of putting humans to death; their experiments and political interests caused
the electric chair to become a legal form of the death penalty by 1889.
3.
Evidence of stone tools and fossilized human remains provides evidence of
dental work that dates as far back as 3000 B.C. Remains from the Aztec culture
show that cavities were filled with a mixture of iron filings, water and lint.
Dentists in ancient Rome were installing gold crowns and bridgework into their
patients' mouths. In early America, blacksmiths often performed many of the
duties of dentists. The first female dentist licensed in America was Lucy Hobbs
in 1866.
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