Dr. Benjamin Spock's evolving views on infant and toddler dental care.

Dr. Ted Croll discusses some of the highlights in the life of Dr. Benjamin Spock, renowned pediatrician, along with sharing aspects of his close personal relationship with Dr. Spock.

Beniamino De Vecchis (1886-1972) Italian Dentist and Historian.

Beniamino De Vecchis (1886-1972) took his Medicine Degree at the University of Naples and then moved to the University of Philadelphia to carry out experimental studies in dental science. He had been Professor of Dentistry at the University of Rome in the second half of twentieth century and was an author of important essays about dentistry and history of dentistry. Moreover, he was the first author of an Italian treatise about orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. In this paper we propose to analyze and evaluate his contributions to dentistry in his country of Italy.

Public Dental Services, Queensland: Alan Thomas Robertson.

Alan Thomas Robertson's career as Assistant Superintendent Brisbane Dental Hospital [1927-1945] and Acting Superintendent [1945-1946] spanned difficult times. In Victoria, against a backdrop of family tragedy and World War I, Robertson achieved distinguished academic and war-service records. Following the move to Queensland, Robertson either experienced or witnessed the Great Depression, World War II and affiliated paradigm shifts in government policy, dental education and the system of the delivery of dental services. Within this context, the actions of Hanlon, Vidgen and Hoole overshadowed Robertson's brief but meaningful contribution to the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch, his diligent nineteen years of service to the Brisbane Dental Hospital [BDH] and its patients, his pioneering of general anesthesia and his perennial commitment to undergraduate and continuing dental education. Robertson's career was neither financially lucrative nor acclaimed. Despite his overt patriotism, leadership potential, academic profile and experience, seniority and service, Robertson's appointment as Superintendent at the BDH was only an interim measure. A brief career in an entrepreneurial private practice ended in professional isolation followed by tragedy. The authors present a revisionist interpretation of Robertson's career. This narrative conveys messages for human resource managers in both academe and health departments.

Public Dental Services, Queensland, Australia: Charles Octavius Vidgen.

Charles Octavius Vidgen was the Superintendent of the Brisbane Dental Hospital, c1917-1945. Hitherto, commentators' reviews rely on imposing but narrow streams of evidence to either ignore Vidgen's influence on the dental profession or portray it as both peripheral and controversial. In this account, the authors use historical method to provide a revisionist account of Vidgen's professional profile and, to a lesser extent, a character resurrection. Vidgen was probably introverted. His orientation relating to dental education became obsolete, inappropriate and disruptive. Vidgen's actions, beliefs and values incurred sustained and organized opposition from academe, the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch, the Odontological Society of Queensland and some private practitioners. The sociopolitical context, namely the Great Depression and affiliated reconstruction, the community's demand for government-administered dental services, World War II, twenty-five years of continuous Australian Labor Party government in Queensland, Edward Hanlon's authoritarianism and the emergence of a welfare state were also relevant to Vidgen's becoming a nonconformist, nonjoiner and an outcast. However, the authors posit that, for the socially disadvantaged and the regionally and remotely domiciled, Vidgen was a humanitarian and a quiet social reformer who, under Hanlon's authority and tutelage, pioneered enduring changes to the delivery of dental services across Queensland.

Sex differences of dental pathology in early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura in Japan.

So-called "Ohaguro", teeth blackening, in the married females was a general custom regardless of class in the early modern period. As a result, Ohaguro was thought to have enhanced the acid resistance of tooth substance and tightened gingiva and prevented tooth morbidity due to periodontal disease. For investigation into the influence of Ohaguro, the skeletal remains of early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura were examined for differences in the dental pathology based on sex. Though females from archeological sites have significantly more carious teeth and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) than males in the previous studies, the prevalence of caries and AMTL in males was higher than in females among the early modern samurai and commoners in Kokura. The efficacies of Ohaguro may influence the good dental health of females. On the other hand, as females were considered inferior to males under the feudal system in Japan, males, including children, might tend to consume more nutritious foods compared to females. However, those foods are certainly not better with regard to dental health, since those foods are more highly cariogenic. These factors may have caused higher caries and AMTL prevalence among males compared to females in early modern Kokura.

Reflections on dentistry and dental problems under the Third Reich.

Victor Klemperer was a Professor of Romance Languages and Literature in Dresden during the 1920s and 1930s. He kept a diary and the entries for the period 1933 to 1945 have been examined for references relating to dentistry and dentists. These give an insight into an aspect of the social life of the period that appears to have been previously largely overlooked.

The origins and nature of acupuncture in dentistry.

A description is given of the origins and different types of acupuncture. The historical origins and their application in dentistry are discussed.

[The development of the dental instrumentarium]. / De extractie door de eeuwen heen.

The University Museum of the University of Utrecht houses within its walls a dentistry collection. A range of dental instruments is on display here which have been used through the ages to deliver people from toothaches. A long time passed, however, before instruments for tooth extraction had been developed which, with the benefit of anatomical knowledge, could effectively grasp teeth. In the middle of the 19th century, general anaesthetics were (re) discovered and that represented an enormous breakthrough. The 'tooth operator' was finally able to treat the patient in a relaxed manner. That opened up a world of medical possibilities. Musclemen who could restrain the patient were no longer necessary and in surgical treatments time became a much less pressing factor. From the beginning of the 20th century, the increase in medical knowledge also made huge advances possible, and the possibilities for dental treatment multiplied.

[The role of occlusion and extraction in orthodontics. Historical overview]. / Az occlusio és az extrakció szerepe a fogszábalyozásban. Történelmi áttekintés.

Occlusion is important in each unit of dentistry. The authors describe not only the meaning of normal occlusion and dysgnathy but also the historical background focusing on the most important orthodontists, their achievements and literary works. This article gives an overview of the development of orthodontics from the very beginning (ancient times) to nowadays. The most important figures of these periods are: P. Fauchard, F. C. Kneisel, E. H. Angle, C. Case (dark ages); C. F. Ballard, P. R. Begg, C. H. Tweed (golden ages); L. F. Andrews and R. H. Roth (contemporary period). Along these three eras development and changing of the extraction-principles are shown. Nowadays the orthodontists still use Angle's classification and orthodontic treatment with extraction is also accepted. However it is not a separate treatment method, but only used as complement treatment. The authors stress on the importance of normal occlusion, which should be result of every orthodontic, but also prothetic and gnathological treatment.

John Greenwood, dentist to President Washington.

In the practice of dentistry in colonial times, no name shines more brightly than that of John Greenwood, the favorite dentist of President George Washington. But it is more than this alone that brings luster to his name and renown. A study of the advertisements he placed in newspapers in Massachusetts and New York gives us an insight into his treatments and his mode of practice. A newly discovered advertisement adds to our knowledge of this remarkable practitioner.

[The development of dental medical care in the Republic of Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya].

The economical analysis of functioning of dental care institutions in the city of Vladikavkaz revealed that the transition from administrative to economical management through the development of self-government and economic managerial methods provide more reserves to enhance quality of dental care and interest of medical stuff in effectiveness of their activities.

Nazi Dentists on Trial: On the Political Complicity of a Long-Neglected Professional Community.

Studies on the complicity of the medical profession in the crimes of the Third Reich are on the rise. This also applies to the question of the extent to which doctors were brought to justice in international trials after World War II. This topic, however, has hardly been considered-let alone systematically investigated-with respect to German dentists. It is precisely this gap that this article will address. First, we quantitatively identify all dentists who were brought to justice in the post-war period. Second, we give a profile of this group. We focus on the following questions: Who among the group was brought to trial, and when? What crimes were they accused of, which sentences were handed down, and how did these sentences affect their future lives? Our study is based primarily on archival sources, which we analyzed with respect to the relevant secondary literature. Contrary to the widely-held assumption that dentists had almost never had been made to stand trial after the end of the war, we identified 48 dentists who were accused in court. The prototypical accused dentist was male, lived in a traditional family model, belonged to the National Socialist Workers' Party (NSDAP) and the Waffen-SS (Schutzstaffel), and was part of the so-called Kriegsjugendgeneration. The most frequent allegations made against these men were the theft of dental gold of murdered Nazi victims, an accusation unique to dentists; (accessory to) murder or manslaughter; and involvement in the deadly selections made in the concentration camps. In total, eight dentists were executed. Generally speaking, the earlier these proceedings and the sentencing took place, the harsher the sentence was. Many of those who received prison sentences subsequently found their way back into the dental profession.

A qualitative study of the role of dental therapy in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the role of the dental therapy profession in New Zealand, identifying the foundation of the profession, and the influences that have shaped its role. DESIGN: Qualitative study incorporating transcripts from oral archives, national questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with key people of influence among the oral health professions. METHODS: A selection of data was ordered into a written sequence and presented, to demonstrate key influencing factors in the introduction, training and work of New Zealand's dental nurses. RESULTS: Education for the dental therapy profession was preceded by the school dental nurse vocation and, despite the intention for the dental nurse's role to be one of 'forestalling disease' and 'prevention', the eventual role was very different. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides evidence of the valuable role of Dental Therapy in New Zealand's public health sector, but whether the role has been utilised most effectively is questionable, particularly when considering the original objectives that were given when the School Dental Nurse concept was first introduced.

[Changing approaches to traumatic injuries to primary and permanent teeth based on the reports published in 'Fogorvosi Szemle' in the past 100 years]. / A tej- és maradó fogak baleseti sérüléseivel kapcsolatos szemléltváltozás jellemzôi a Fogorvosi Szemlében 100 év alatt megjelent közlemények alapján.

Most of the external forces hitting the body (automobile injuries, sport injuries, job accidents, falls, hits and fights) reach the head, and especially the oral and maxillofacial region. Statistics show the head is injured in more than 70 per cent of car accidents. The incidence of head injuries, specifically tooth injuries, is high among both infancy and school children. Authors give a review about the changing approaches of treatment principles in the reports published in the Hungarian dental journal 'Fogorvosi Szemle' in the past 100 years, and how today's modern treatment trends have evolved.

[Changing methods of pain- and fear-relief in dental treatments based on reports published in 'Fogorvosi Szemle']. / A fájdalom- és félelemmentes fogászati kezelés módszereinek alakulása a Fogorvosi Szemlében megjelent dolgozatok tükrében.

In the dental practice--for more than a 100 years--it has been a vital topic how to prevent, eliminate, or at least relieve pain and fear associated with dental treatments. 'Fogorvosi Szemle,' the scientific journal of the Hungarian Dental Association is now a 100 years old. Authors present how the approaches and methods of relieving pain and fear have changed in the past century, based on the reports published in this journal. The reports are grouped in three main topics: local anaesthetics and sedatives; ambulatory narcosis and sedative analgesia; hypnosis and hypnotherapy. Based on the publications of the last one hundred years, it can be concluded that the Hungarian dental practice has followed the trends and principles of the well-known international dental schools.

1960s dentistry and Call the Midwife.

Call the Midwife is a popular TV series exploring difficult life, especially for women, in the East End of London in the 1960s. This paper recalls how the TV company enlisted help from the BDA Museum to develop some dental scenarios. Ideas were developed and help was given to write scripts and then during filming.

From Dental to Mental Institutions: A Quadruple Threat of Nitrous-Oxide Administration Before and During Mental Asylum Admission.

During the 19th century, patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical and dental procedures were at risk of being given hypoxic or dilute nitrous oxide on four separate occasions. Primary and secondary saturation during surgery could account for two administrations of 100% nitrous-oxide anesthesia, while both diagnostic and therapeutic doses of dilute nitrous oxide were frequently administered in mental asylums.

A political economic history of medical and dental care in Nunavut, Canada.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the historical development of medical and dental care in the territory of Nunavut, Canada. STUDY DESIGN: Ethnographic case study using political economy as a mode of explanation. METHODS: Participant observations, document reviews and stakeholder interviews, conducted over a four-year period. RESULTS: There is a clear and now long-term movement from state and professionally controlled health care delivery to Indigenous control over care. CONCLUSIONS: Indigenous groups increasingly hold control over health care delivery through a complex form of management that straddles both public and private organisational spheres.