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Q: Is dentistry a relatively modern science?
A: People have been examining and trying to learn about teeth since at least 5000 B.C. A Sumerian text from this period describes "tooth worms" as the cause of dental decay. By 2600 B.C., there was an Egyptian scholar, Hesy-Re, sometimes referred to as the first dentist because an inscription on his tomb described him as "the greatest of those who deal with teeth, and of physicians." So the practice of dentistry has been evolving and improving for thousands of years.
By the 13th century, in France there was a Guild of Barbers. Barbers eventually broke into two groups: surgeons who were educated to perform complex surgeries, and lay barbers who performed more mundane tasks like shaving, bleeding and pulling teeth. In 1760, a fellow named John Baker emigrated from England to America and became the earliest medically trained dentist to practice here. In 1790, Josiah Flagg, an American dentist, developed the first dental chair. To a wooden Windsor chair, Flagg attached an adjustable headrest and a tray to hold dental equipment. The evolution continues today.
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