As you may already know, a lot of people have a fairly substantial fear of dentist or literally more to the point needles. You may be more happy to concede that this is an entirely irrational fear. Perhaps you may need a new perspective, perhaps looking back to the past will afford you a new appreciation of just how lucky you are.
About 300 thousand years ago the species homo rhodesiensis showed signs of extreme wear on their teeth. Their tuff diet and near chronic abscesses were just one step on the long road of dental evolution to modern human beings but it would be a few hundred thousand years until dentist showed up such as the dentists in Traverse City Michigan that we know today.
Tracing the Origins of Dental Practice
Around 700 BC, with the Indus Valley Civilization, we begin to see some of the first evidence for early dentists plying their trade. This comes in the form of holes drilled into teeth, presumably to remove decay. This drilling technology most likely came in the form of the bow drill. A fairly crude mechanical implement but nonetheless effective. It is thought that bead making was the primary profession of these early dentists. Who probably did house calls on the side. Though effective this was likely far from a pleasant experience.
Around 5000 BC in southern Mesopotamia, Sumerians wrote down a key concept with regards to teeth. There is a text which describes the cause of dental pain and decay. They believe that such things occurred because of the tooth worm. The tooth worm was taken very seriously.
Around 700 BC in the Assyrian city of Nineveh, ascribe possibly suffering from toothache took down an invocation against the tooth worm. It deplores the worm’s nature and begs the Gods to strike it down. The concept of the tooth worm was widely accepted up until the early 18th century. practitioners would even yank at nerves , thinking them worms until the idea was challenged by Pierre Hassad.
Around 4500 BC at the Slovenian town of Loca, researchers recently confirmed that a find made heir in 1911 contained a beeswax filling. The filling was in a canine tooth of a man in his mid-20s. The wax covered sensitive dentin exposed by a vertical crack in the tooth.
As early as 3000 BC the ancient Egyptians had dentists. The so called Edwin Smith Papyrus tells at the treatment of several oral ailments, and during the second dynasty Hesi-Re was named as the greatest of those who deal with teeth and of physicians.