The dawn of dentistry: dentistry among the Etruscans

Abstract

The Etruscans were a group of agricultural people who evolved into an urban population of craftsmen, traders, and navigators who lived in a network of cities and dominated the area of the Mediterranean around Italy in the 8th and 9th centuries BC. What has come to be known, and is of importance in our study of the history of dentistry are a significant number of very interesting works of art which include gold dental prostheses. The Etruscan prostheses are remarkable because they used gold bands which were soldered into rings instead of the gold wires which are seen in other cultures (Egyptians, Phoenicians) of the same time.

Origins of Maxillofacial Surgery in Mediterranean Medical History

“…Despite evidence of dental extractions in Greece and Rome, not much is known about the oral and dental care by the Romans. However, specifications found in the law of the Twelve Tables, indicate that the Etruscan knowledge and technology of dental prosthetic bands had been passed to the Romans 7 and that developments in dental and oral surgery continued with dentistry becoming a recognized profession. 4 Furthermore, some form of orthodontic treatment practiced by Etruscans perdured.…”

“…Though Phoenician retentive appliances were extraordinary, and that wire making is certainly more difficult than band making, they do not by any means measure up to the ingenuity and achievements of the Etruscan band appliances 5. Preceding the Phoenician dental wires by one or two centuries, and unlike Egyptians and Phoenicians who used gold wires, Etruscans crafted some of the oldest known dental prosthetics and appear to have made one of the earliest attempts at dental bridges with gold and silver bands holding together rows of teeth 3,7. Bands which were soldered into rings used not only to hold substitute teeth of human or animal origin, but apparently were used also to help fix in place mobile teeth caused by periodontal disease (Figs.…”

“…2A and 1B). From the 8th to the 7th century BC when Etruria enjoyed its greatest power and prosperity, Etruscan goldsmiths had an artistic level, profound technological knowledge, and great skills unparalleled by other Mediterranean cultures of the time 7. Gold soldering was unknown for Phoenicians even as late as the 5th Century 5…”

“…A substitute incisor tooth was a calf tooth which was filed to size. The amazing variety of appliances, the different solutions to the dental problems, and the ingenuity in design, indicate that those involved in their manufacturing had definite experience in solving dental problems 7. Etruscans even designed ways to seal exposed nerves and protect the teeth 4…”

125 years of developments in dentistry, 1880–2005 Part 4: Clinical dentistry

“…In 1883 George Verdiman Black published Formation of poisons by microorganisms where he suggested disease is caused by "organic germs" and reviewed the theories of Koch, Lister, Virchow and others. 8 Willoughby D Miller's 1890 The Micro-organisms of the human mouth made dentists aware that dental disease could be prevented by continuous attention to oral care (Fig. 2).…”