A True "Uomo Universale" from the 1800s - Dr. George Watt.

A hot bed of organized dental leadership and visionary thinking in the mid-to-late 1800s came from Ohio, as many presidents of the American Dental Association were from that state. They were quite influential in leading this organization into the 20th century. One of the most dynamic and well-rounded individuals was Dr. George Watt…this paper will highlight his life as viewed by one of his peers.

Historical perspectives on advertising and the meme that personal oral hygiene prevents dental caries.

The consensus of a leading scientific panel in 1930 was that oral hygiene products could not prevent dental caries. Their view was that dental caries prevention required the proper mineralisation of teeth and that vitamin D could achieve this goal. Over a hundred subsequent controlled trials, conducted over seven decades, largely confirmed that this scientific panel had made the right decisions. They had, in 1930, when it comes to dental caries, correctly endorsed vitamin D products as dental caries prophylactics and oral hygiene products as cosmetics. And yet, despite this consistent scientific evidence for close to a century, an opposing conventional wisdom emerged which thrives to this day: oral hygiene habits (without fluoride) protect the teeth from dental caries, and vitamin D plays no role in dental caries prevention. This historical analysis explores whether persistent advertising can deeply engrain memes on dental caries prevention which conflict with controlled trial results. The question is raised whether professional organisations, with a dependence on advertising revenues, can become complicit in amplifying advertised health claims which are inconsistent with the principles of evidence-based medicine.

The beginnings of professional dental institutions in 19th century America.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the American Dental Association, it is important to understand that the birth of this organization had a gestation period of 30 years. Six events which took place between 1839 and 1845, and their subsequent sequelae, established American dentistry on a definite institutional foundation.

Preceptorship revisited.

Before the advent of university-based dental education, preceptorship training was the only way one could learn to be a dentist. Even after dental schools became firmly entrenched in the university system, preceptorships were accepted for specialty training. In the 1960s, the American Association of Orthodontists revived the tradition to meet a growing demand for orthodontic specialists. By the time that program concluded a decade later, over 200 specialists had completed their studies; many preceptees went into clinical practice near or with their mentors. The author of this historical review is a practicing orthodontist certified by the American Board of Orthodontics, a faculty member of a university orthodontic department, and a 1961 graduate of the supervised preceptorship program.

Overview of the history and current status of fluoride supplementation schedules.

Clinical trials of dietary fluoride supplements began in the 1940s in an effort to bring the benefits of fluoride to those who did not receive it through their drinking water. Following the early success of these trials, the Council on Dental Therapeutics of the American Dental Association (ADA) published its first recommendations for fluoride supplementation in 1958. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) followed with its own recommendations in 1972. During the 1970s a variety of alternative schedules appeared in the literature, most in reaction to the findings of unexpectedly high levels of enamel fluorosis in children being supplemented with the AAP schedule. In 1979 the ADA and AAP agreed on essentially identical schedules. During the 1980s, however, the prevalence of enamel fluorosis continued to increase, and fluoride supplements were found in some studies to be a risk factor for fluorosis. This finding prompted another round of dosage schedule recommendations in the early 1990s. This paper presents a history of fluoride dosage recommendations and reviews the recent proposals for reducing supplement dosage.

Contributions of orthodontists to organized dentistry.

The first specialty board in dentistry has been celebrating its 50th anniversary. The need for the specialty and for presenting orthodontic diagnosis and classification at the undergraduate level remains. The orthodontic specialty has contributed an active source of leadership to all of dentistry and is proud to share in the common heritage of service to the public and in responsibility to the patient.

Ethics in dentistry: review and critique of Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.

This paper has reviewed an ethic for the profession of dental medicine, such an ethic being grounded in the classical characteristics of a profession. The Principles and Code of the ADA have been reviewed and critiqued. The following conclusions are drawn: The dental profession and the individual dentist have a duty to recognize the reciprocity of the relationship that exists with society, and the duty of covenantal fidelity. The dentist has a duty to conduct his or her professional life in accordance with the ethical principles rooted in the moral rules. These are the principles of beneficence: autonomy and justice, in both individual and societal contexts. The dentist has a duty to maintain his or her level of knowledge and skill current. The dentist has an obligation to participate in the professional community to help ensure just distribution of society's resources and to share the burden of professional self-regulation to the extent that such a privilege is granted by society. The current Principles and Code are helpful expressions of dentistry's professional obligations, but are deficient in: not speaking to reciprocity of relationship, the principle of self-determination, and not providing for societal participation in the covenant agreement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Tobacco or oral health: past progress, impending challenge.

BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW: A number of significant events and research findings during the past 15 years have led to the dental profession's growing involvement in tobacco-use intervention activities. The author presents an overview of events and people responsible for the progress in furthering the cause of dentistry's activism in tobacco-use prevention and control. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Dentistry has led the health professions in establishing a protocol for the prevention of tobacco use, a health behavior that causes or contributes to various oral diseases and adverse conditions. Dentists practicing in the 21st century cannot ignore patients' tobacco use. Treatment prognoses for periodontal therapy, wound healing, dental implants, cosmetic treatments and cancer therapy all are compromised by patients' tobacco use. Dentists must know what to do and say to prevent patients' tobacco use and aid patients in its cessation.

Dental education for women dentists in the United States: the beginnings.

During the 19th century, dentistry was changing from a craft that was usually transmitted by a preceptor to a science that was taught in established schools. The first dental school, established in 1827 in Bainbridge, Ohio, was soon followed by a large number of proprietary and freestanding schools of dentistry. However, no matter what the status of the dental school, none would admit women. In contrast, the first woman to be admitted to a medical college graduated in 1849. The Ohio College of Dental Surgery was the first dental school to open its doors to a woman and granted a degree to Lucy Beaman Hobbs Taylor in 1866. Although the number of women to graduate from dental school increased, the number was small compared to the increase in male graduates. By 1893, about 200 women had graduated with degrees in dentistry, including a number who came from outside the United States.

Advertising, commercialism, and professionalism: a history of the ethics of advertising in dentistry.

The authors "read" the historical dental codes prohibiting advertising and the U. S. Supreme Court decision striking down prohibitions against advertising by lawyers in Arizona, and by extension, professional advertising generally. The arguments presented in defense of prohibiting professional advertising and the court's responses to each are presented in detail. The current ADA code is analyzed in this context.

The development of hospital dentistry in America--the first one hundred years (1850-1950).

The development of hospital dentistry in America began in the middle of the nineteenth century with the pioneering endeavors of Dr. Simon Hullihen and Dr. James Garretson who is credited with the development of the specialty of oral surgery. While starting small, the prodigious work of these and other dentists laid the foundation on which modern hospital dentistry would be built. Throughout its establishment, however, hospital dentistry would have to fight for a place in the hospital, not only with the medical community but also from within the dental community. In time though, hospital dentistry would come to have the support of the American Dental Association and the respect of the medical community.