eBook - ePub
The Excruciating History of Dentistry
Toothsome Tales & Oral Oddities from Babylon to Braces
- 257 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Excruciating History of Dentistry
Toothsome Tales & Oral Oddities from Babylon to Braces
About this book
An "entertaining history" of the practice of dentistry that will remind you how lucky you are to live in the modern era (
Publishers Weekly).
For those on both sides of the dreaded dentist's chair, James Wynbrandt has written a witty, colorful, and richly informative history of the art and science of dentistry. To all of those dental patients whose whine rises in tandem with that of the drill, take note: You would do well to stifle your terror and instead offer thanks to Apollonia, the patron saint of toothache sufferers, that you face only fleeting discomfort rather than the disfiguring distress or slow agonizing death oft meted out by dental-care providers of the past. The transition from yesterday's ignorance, misapprehension, and superstition to the enlightened and nerve-deadened protocols of today has been a long, slow, and very painful process—as shown by such facts as:
*Among the toothache remedies favored by Pierre Fauchard, the father of dentistry, was rinsing the mouth liberally with one's own urine.
*George Washington never had wooden teeth. However, his chronic dental problems may have impacted the outcome of the American Revolution.
*Soldiers in the Civil War needed at least two opposing front teeth to rip open powder envelopes. Some men had their front teeth extracted to avoid service.
*Teeth were harvested from as many as fifty thousand corpses after the Battle of Waterloo, a huge crop later used for dentures and transplants that became known as "Waterloo Teeth."
"You'll gain a great deal of dental knowledge, acquired quite painlessly." — The New York Times Book Review
"Just the thing you need to get through your next oral probing." — Entertainment Weekly
"A breezy romp . . . While sensitive dentists may wince at having their profession's rough-and-tumble past revealed, dental patients are more likely to feel relief at having been born in the modern era of dentistry. Both groups are in for a good laugh." — Kirkus Reviews
For those on both sides of the dreaded dentist's chair, James Wynbrandt has written a witty, colorful, and richly informative history of the art and science of dentistry. To all of those dental patients whose whine rises in tandem with that of the drill, take note: You would do well to stifle your terror and instead offer thanks to Apollonia, the patron saint of toothache sufferers, that you face only fleeting discomfort rather than the disfiguring distress or slow agonizing death oft meted out by dental-care providers of the past. The transition from yesterday's ignorance, misapprehension, and superstition to the enlightened and nerve-deadened protocols of today has been a long, slow, and very painful process—as shown by such facts as:
*Among the toothache remedies favored by Pierre Fauchard, the father of dentistry, was rinsing the mouth liberally with one's own urine.
*George Washington never had wooden teeth. However, his chronic dental problems may have impacted the outcome of the American Revolution.
*Soldiers in the Civil War needed at least two opposing front teeth to rip open powder envelopes. Some men had their front teeth extracted to avoid service.
*Teeth were harvested from as many as fifty thousand corpses after the Battle of Waterloo, a huge crop later used for dentures and transplants that became known as "Waterloo Teeth."
"You'll gain a great deal of dental knowledge, acquired quite painlessly." — The New York Times Book Review
"Just the thing you need to get through your next oral probing." — Entertainment Weekly
"A breezy romp . . . While sensitive dentists may wince at having their profession's rough-and-tumble past revealed, dental patients are more likely to feel relief at having been born in the modern era of dentistry. Both groups are in for a good laugh." — Kirkus Reviews
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Yes, you can access The Excruciating History of Dentistry by James Wynbrandt in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Social History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. Demons, Worms, and Excess Fluids: Suspected Causes and Horrific Cures of the Ancient World’s Dental Problems
- 2. From Swindling Charlatans to Bleeding Barbers: The Incompetence of Tooth-Drawers Is Equalled by the Barbarity of Barber-Surgeons
- 3. Is There a Dentatore in the House?: Professional Dentistry Emerges in the Glow of the Enlightenment and a Gargle of Urine
- 4. The American Experience: Dental Care Comes to the New World, Sparking a Revolution
- 5. A New Era in Teethpulling: Anesthetics Usher in Painless Dentistry
- 6. Licensed to Drill: Dentistry in the Era of Robber Barons and Reformers
- 7. False Promise: Dentures and Dental Prosthetics through History
- 8. X-Ray Martyrs: Toxic, Addictive, Deadly, and Disgusting Substances Turned on the Teeth
- 9. Disposable Income and Permanent Teeth: A Century of Progress Builds a Dental Bridge to a New Era of Oral Care
- 10. The Million-Dollar Smile: Dentistry, Hollywood, and Oral Image-Making
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- Also by James Wynbrandt
- Copyright