The history of dentistry spans more than 2,500 years , from the appearance of the first dentists in history to, just a hundred years ago, the first electric toothbrush.
Here are the highlights of this journey of dental innovation .
Oral history
2600 BC C .: The first dentist . An inscription on the tomb of the physician Hesy-Re includes the title "the greatest of those who deal with teeth."
1700-1500 BC C .: The first treatise on Dentistry . The Ebers papyrus is the oldest known description of dental disease and toothache remedies.
700 a. C .: The first false teeth . The Etruscans, an ancient civilization that lived in the territory of present-day Italy, made false teeth from the remains of humans and animals.
1530: The first book of Dentistry . Artzney Büchlein writes Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth .
1780: The first toothbrush : William Addis of the United Kingdom makes the first modern toothbrush. He made the first prototype with bristle and pig bone while in prison for mutiny.
1790: The first dentist chair : Josiah Flagg, from the United States, builds the first chair designed for dental practices. The Wilkerson chair, the first hydraulic dentist chair, appeared in 1877.
1880: The first tube of toothpaste . Maxillofacial surgeon Washington Sheffield in the United States invented the collapsible metal tube.
1885: The first dental assistant . C. Edmund Kells, a prominent dentist in New Orleans, hired Malvina Cueria to help him with his work.
1896: The first dental radiography . Kells also becomes the first dentist to take a dental radiograph (x-ray) of a living patient.
1927: The first electric toothbrush . The Electro Massage Toothbrush Company makes its first model; in 1961 it would be followed by cordless and rechargeable versions.
