Dentistry, like many medical disciplines, is a very old science. Dental disease was interested in Hippocrates, in Egypt tried to treat the teeth in the third millennium BC, is actively interested in the problems of the teeth and in ancient Rome. The first tool that lets you delete bad teeth appeared in the 4th century BC and was similar to tongs to remove the nails.
Modern dentistry began to develop thanks to the French dentist Foshar. The doctor first suggested handling carious teeth and filling them with tin foil, gold or lead. After that came the golden crown, and in 1819, cavities were filled with a mixture of sawdust silver and mercury. Devices for the treatment of patients with teeth appeared in 1820, they operate using manual machines.
In the late XIX – early XX century rapid development of biology, chemistry, physiology and other sciences, had a great influence on the development of dentistry, which, after merging with the oral and maxillofacial surgery was familiar to us the name of “dentistry”.
In the early 20 century in dentistry have allocated separate areas, which have been further developed and currently represent the following:
1. therapeutic dental care, including examination and diagnosis of dental disease, periodontal tissues and oral mucosa, the development of treatments and therapies aimed at preserving the structure and function;
2. surgical dentistry, which includes the study and diagnosis of diseases and injuries of oral and maxillofacial region, the development of surgery, including operations, methods of treatment;
3. prosthodontics, studies the violation of the integrity functions of teeth and jaws, their diagnosis and develop methods of prevention and treatment by prosthetic, and the use of substitutes and the regulatory apparatus;
4. pediatric dentistry that studies the formation and development of organs and tissues of the maxillofacial region in children, as well as the development and application of preventive methods of diagnosis and treatment of diseases, abnormalities of teeth, jaws, oral mucosa in children;
5. aesthetic dentistry, which has a large set of methods to achieve the perfect effect for a variety of shortcomings teeth – changes colors and shapes, gaps between teeth, blackened old fillings, chipped or reversals of teeth, and many other defects.
Modern dentistry is intensively developing branch of medicine. There are used the most modern technology. In dentistry are already widely used methods of treatment of caries without the use of drills: laser treatment of cavities, abrasion, and chemical treatment.
In the prosthesis to the new technologies include implants (artificial roots of teeth). In the manufacture of modern implants is using titanium alloys with high strength and lack of allergic reactions in humans.
Computer technology is used in the simulation and reproduction of dentures. This allows you to create perfectly accurate dentures, fully complying with the anatomical structure of the jaws. Computer simulation is used in the surgical treatment of jaw deformities.
Today dentistry is a high-tech branch of medicine. Modern dentistry has a rich and constantly improving arsenal of medical tools. Every year there are devices and techniques with new features and expanded indications, allowing to do what 100 years ago, it seemed a miracle.
Advances in modern genetics and molecular biology allow us to say that soon it will be possible cloning of teeth and their installation to replace lost or diseased. So do not throw the baby teeth! Who knows, maybe they will be material to grow your own teeth!