Editorial
Dentistry – from the
craftsmanship of the craftsmen
to precise machine technology
Marian-Vladimir Constantinescu
DDS, PhD, Professor
Editor-in-Chief
Dear Readers,
Recently, archeologists have reported the earliest evidence of a dental procedure practiced on dental caries dating back
to the Upper Paleolithic (over 14,000 years BC) - an occlusal carious cavity on a lower molar, partially cleaned with flint
tools, practiced on a modern human specimen originating from a site in Northern Italy (Villabruna).
With this recent discovery in mind, a discovery which shows that dental interventions have a long history, let us follow
the steps taken by dental practice since the dawn of human history until today.
Since then dental practice has taken huge strides in its development. Archeological finds suggest that Neolithic people
had dental skills – for instance, the eleven human molars with drill holes made by a flint tool in a cemetery in Pakistan
(7,500 to 9,000 BC) or evidence of dental treatments performed with a spring-operated drill on a site in the Indus Valley
(7,000 BC).
The oldest beeswax dental filling, dating back 6,500 years BC, was discovered in Slovenia.
In modern times, Pierre Fauchard, the French surgeon (1728) known as the “father of modern dentistry” used dental
fillings as treatment for tooth decay and discovered ways of replacing lost teeth with ivory or bone blocks.
Gradually, technology made its way in dental practice – from the first foot-operated drill used by the American dentist
James B. Morrison (1871), working at 2,000 rpm to the electric dental drill first patented by Dr. Green (1875) which can
reach 3,000 rpm and the air turbine handpiece developed by the New Zealander John Patrick Walsh (1949) which
worked at 400,000 rpm. They were handpieces used by practitioners to perform restorations of wipla crowns and