History of Dentistry in the Middle Ages

After the fall of Rome in 476 A.D., and for much of the Middle Ages, little progress was made in the field of dentistry. During the first few centuries of this period, most of the advances that were made were the result of work done by Arab physicians. Rhazes (865-925) advocated the use of dentifrices and described a metallic filling material for the teeth. Abul Kasim (Abulcasis), in the 11th century, considered dental tartar to be harmful, and he described a method of transplanting teeth. He also operated on cleft lips. The Arabian physicians refused to extract teeth and relegated this operation to barbers.

Throughout much of Europe in the Middle Ages the practice of dentistry was largely limited to monks, but in 1131 the Council of Reims forbade the clergy from performing any surgical procedures. Thereafter, until the 19th century, dentistry was largely practiced by barber surgeons and other men outside the medical profession. In 1308 the Guild of Barber Surgeons was founded in England, and it remained in existence for more than 400 years. Although Guy de Chauliac, a 14th century surgeon at the University of Montpellier in France, considered dentistry a specialized branch of medicine and recommended that dental operations be performed by medical specialists, most physicians did not agree with him and dentistry continued to be practiced by barbers, barber surgeons, and the so-called tooth-drawers.

Toward the end of the Middle Ages two important new instruments were devised for the rapid extraction of firmly rooted teeth. These instruments, called the straight lever and the pelican, were hinged, two-piece levers that remained important dental aids until the middle of the 18th century.