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    Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health
    Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health
    Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health
    Ebook96 pages49 minutes

    Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health

    By Ram Das

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    About this ebook

    You, your teeth and your dentist are some of the issues one cannot ignore, but most people probably remember their teeth or dentist only when they develop that unbearable toothache or that somewhat fashionable painful wisdom tooth. Your teeth, your oral health and in consequence your dentist, have remained sidelined for quite some time now. In fact, many myths and misconceptions about them have developed, often to everyone's detriment, these include sentiments like dental phobia, to sheer dental neglect, to hating your teeth as well as your dentist. There are indeed apprehensions about the dentist's bills, and at times, his integrity or competence. It is these issues that this book tries to address.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWinchester Publications
    Release dateSep 9, 2018
    ISBN9781386499800
    Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health

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      Everything you Need to Know about Dentistry and Oral Health - Ram Das

      INTRODUCTION

      You, your teeth and your dentist are some of the issues one cannot ignore, but most people probably remember their teeth or dentist only when they develop that unbearable toothache or that somewhat fashionable painful wisdom tooth. Your teeth, your oral health and in consequence your dentist, have remained sidelined for quite some time now. In fact, many myths and misconceptions about them have developed, often to everyone’s detriment, these include sentiments like dental phobia, to sheer dental neglect, to hating your teeth as well as your dentist. There are indeed apprehensions about the dentist’s bills, and at times, his integrity or competence. It is these issues that this book tries to address.

      There are people amongst us, who need to improve their awareness about the importance of their teeth and the masticatory apparatus. Many amongst us have taken these structures for granted, liable to abuse and wear, while some feel that modern dental science can solve all their dental woes, sometimes overestimating the power of the healer, to the cost of everyone, including themselves. The book seeks to throw some light on the various issues you would encounter, once you start thinking about your teeth. In fact it exhorts you to take your oral health seriously and think about preventing oral and dental disease, rather than rushing to seek assistance in emergency situations, a good oral hygiene and dental health makes an impact on individuals, their families, the community and infect the entire nation. Nowadays there are various treatment modalities available in modem dentistry about which we everyone should be aware. The book tries to answer some common queries and reservations that patients have about certain treatment options. It goes on to consider certain controversial issues currently facing the dental fraternity, and leaves the reader to make an informed choice.

      The book gives information on training imparted to dentists and the qualifications they hold, thus enabling the reader to have an idea about the competence of their dental surgeon. It will also help attract fresh talent into the profession. It must be stressed, however, that like all healing professions, dentistry is an art as well as a science.

      Though it would not be possible to either justify or not justify the charges for dental services, the book tries to shed some light on the economics of dental practice, thus giving a dentist’s perspective of costs and charges. That is not to say that dentistry should be equated to a trade in any perceivable way, but it gives the reader an idea about what he is paying for. It also tries to impress upon the patients their position as consumers of a service. The aim of the book is to create an informed patient who has an idea of what he or she can seek, the limitations of dental services, their duties and rights as responsible patients, so as to make the association with the dentist a satisfactory and rewarding experience.

      THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF DENTISTRY

      Development of Dentistry as a Specialty in the World

      The history of tooth problems and their treatment is probably as old as the history of man himself and there are evidences that ancient man too suffered from dental decay. One of the earliest evidence of dental problems and their treatment are the Sanskrit scriptures in the Vedas, which give a thorough description of oral anatomy and diseases, and how they need to be treated. Ancient Indian medicinal scripts like the Sushruta Samhita, Charak Samhita and Bhav Prakash have suggested various oral hygiene measures and methods to maintain dental and oral health. Various medicinal plants too have been prescribed or recommended for treating illnesses of the teeth and gums. In the Eber’s papyri, an Egyptian manuscript, which dates back to 3700 ac, dental maladies such as toothaches and gum problems are mentioned. In ancient Chinese manuscripts, several dental ailments were mentioned and treatments suggested. Evidence of splinting teeth by Egyptians around 2500 BC is also available.

      If we study the history and evolution of medicine we will find that dentistry evolved as a branch of medicine. Great physicians of the past, like Aesculapius, Aristotle, Galen, Hippocrates, Celsus, Archigenus and Albucasis have given considerable importance and reference to dental ailmerits and their treatment, in their medical texts. In ancient times, it was believed that a physician must concentrate on a particular system of medicine, after which he would be called a specialist in that branch.

      Herodatus, a historian, described the medical art in Egypt as ’the art of medicine is distributed thus each physician is a physician of one disease and no more; and the whole country is full of physicians, for some profess themselves to be physicians of the eyes, others of the head, others of the teeth, others of affections of the stomach, and others of more obscure ailments. It is thus clear that dentistry has evolved as a specialty of medicine and it was only qualified physicians who practised the trade. The study and treatment of dental ailments was one such branch and a specialty of medicine. Until recently, only those individuals who were qualified doctors, and had passed relevant dental examinations were allowed to practice dentistry. Dentistry has evolved over many millennia to the state what it is today. It is extremely interesting to go into the various stories of the evolution of dentistry as a specialty of medicine. It is also interesting to note that various civilizations had made tremendous progress in their oral hygiene habits and the treatment of dental and oral diseases, during various eras in the past. Dentistry has evolved through many ancient civilizations such as the ancient empires in Rome, Egypt, India, and the Islamic rulers in Baghdad, Syria, most of the Middle East, and parts of Europe. Great progress was made in these times regarding the study of health of teeth and oral hygiene. The importance of teeth and oral health has been emphasised in the ancient Indian texts and compositions. Many of the Sanskrit shlokas make mention of our teeth and the importance of maintaining them in good health and place. The Ayurveda too recommends several methods to maintain oral hygiene.

      In other parts of the world too, medicinal science was progressing, along with the specialty of dentistry. It is said that during the Islamic period, huge centres of learning were set up in places like Baghdad, around AD 830, where numerous books on medicine and dentistry were translated and studied. The Arabs had very thorough oral hygiene habits and oral hygiene was prescribed by

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