CHAPTER XI.

THE DEPARTMENT OF DENTISTRY.

A quite general impression prevails that dentistry has had the largest share of development in this country; indeed by many it is supposed to have had its origin as a profession in America. The first statement can not probably be disputed, and the reason for this may be found in a combination of physical and mental conditions; the physical in temporary degeneration, doubtless caused by climate, food, mixing of races; in a word, all the disturbing elements consequent upon the developing of virgin land to a new civilization, and the active mentality, the result of the necessities of environment.

The origin of dentistry seems to be lost in remote antiquity, and as the Egyptians were the first to cultivate medicine, so we find the first evidence among that people of dental operations. Herodotus (500 B. C.) writes "of this mother of the arts and sciences" that "some (physicians) are for the eyes, others for the head, others for the teeth, and others for other internal disorders;" but at no period up to the middle of the present century was any attempt made to combine the crude elements and crystallize them into a profession. The work of the eighteenth century, confined to a few able men in England and France, served to rescue the subject from the lower grades of empiricism; but failed, in their single efforts, to raise a standard worthy the respect of scientific men. The practice was mainly confined to two classes, the mechanic and the medically trained surgeon. Both of these were, in their way, imperfect, and made up of incompatible elements. Hence the results were, necessarily, crude in every direction and progress was impossible. This condition of things, in the older civilizations, was transplanted to America with, for a time, similar results.

The first dentist on record in Philadelphia was Mr. John Woofendale, who arrived from England in 1776. He practiced in New York and Philadelphia but a short time, returning to England. From this date (1776) to near the close of the Revolutionary war there was but one dentist in this city, a Mr. Baker. In 1783 two are mentioned in the directory, Mr. John Baker and Mr. John Gardette. Joseph Le Mayeur, a French dentist, came to this country with the French army and established himself in Philadelphia in 1784. He was probably the first in the United States to perform the operation of transplanting teeth (Watson's Annals). From these beginnings, here and elsewhere,

the dental profession had its rise a century ago in this country, and from this humble and isolated origin has grown the splendid array of colleges, instructors, and educated men, a result unparalleled in any epoch and in any profession in an equal period of time.

The earlier training of dental students was necessarily confined to private instruction. The laboratory was the principal if not the only school, and whatever of surgery was required was picked up by observation or was secured by taking the medical degree. The latter course was the one adopted by a limited number after a more or less thorough training in the mechanical laboratory. This gave a somewhat better position to the few; but their efforts were too isolated to effect any marked improvement in the status of the calling, and dentistry failed to receive much respect from the profession to which it was most closely allied, that of medicine. The efforts of such men as Harris, Hayden, Bond, Arthur, Townsend, and Westcott led to the formation of dental associations, and from these grew the Dental College. As early as 1817 Dr. Hayden advocated the idea of a national convention of dentists, but the numbers were too few in the country at that time and lacked that intelligent appreciation of its importance to make the suggestion a success. He accomplished his desire, however, in 1840, and became the president of the first American Society of Dental Surgeons. Dr. Hayden may, therefore, justly be regarded as the father of the American educational methods in dentistry.

The decade from 1830 to 1840 was a marked epoch in the history of dentistry, and from this period may be dated its formation as a scientific body. In 1839 the attempt was made to organize the first Dental College of the world under the title of the "Baltimore College of Dental Surgery." The faculty was originally composed as follows: Horace H. Hayden, M. D., president, principles of dental science; Chapin A. Harris, M. D., dean, theory and practice of dental surgery and theory and practice of dental mechanism; Thomas E. Bond, M. D., dental pathology and therapeutics; H. Willis Baxley, M. D., anatomy and physiology.

This organization was followed in 1845 by the formation of the Ohio Dental College, located in Cincinnati. This by the Transylvania School of Dentistry in Kentucky, in 1850, and the New York College of Dental Surgery of Syracuse, N. Y., in 1852. Both of the two last named had but a short existence. In May, 1850, a charter was granted for the Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery. As this college was indirectly the foundation upon which was eventually reared the Dental Department of the University of Pennsylvania, it is of interest to know of what material the original faculty was composed. It was as follows: J. D. White, M. D., D. D. S., anatomy and physiology; Ely Parry, M. D., D. D. S., chemistry, materia medica, and special therapeutics; Robert Arthur, D. D. S., principles of dental surgery; Elisha Townsend, M. D., D. D. S., operative dentistry, and dean; T. L. Buckingham, M. D.,

mechanical dentistry; D. B. Whipple, M. D., demonstrator of surgical and mechanical dentistry.

But one of the members of this faculty is now living, Dr. J. D. White; but they were all men of marked ability in many directions, and exercised a power which contributed in no small degree to rousing attention to the superior character of American dentistry abroad and in widening its influence at home.

This school had but a four years' lease of life. Difficulties arose between the faculty and the Board of Trustees, resulting in separation and the procurement of a new charter in 1856 under the name of "The Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery." The same Faculty continued to perform the duties. Since then, through various changes, the school has flourished and still remains one of the prominent educational institutions of Philadelphia. In 1876 the resignation of Prof. James Truman and the death of Prof. E. Wildman resulted in the appointment of E. T. Darby, D. D. S., and Charles J. Essig, M. D., D. D. S., to fill the respective chairs.

The dental colleges of this country in their earlier organization, adopted an almost fatal rule, that five years' actual practice would be regarded equivalent to one year's study at college. This was done with the view of inducing those in practice to take the degree, and thus, it was hoped, all, in time, would be enrolled into a compact and vigorous body. This proved to be an error. While it had the effect, with a few, the larger number who took advantage of it were young men, some of whom resorted to false certificates to obtain the end desired. The practical result was that men were being graduated in one session, with little or no previous training. This scandal became of world-wide notoriety, sinking all dental schools into contempt, in the opinion of good men here and abroad, and promised shortly to carry the name of American dentistry to a lower depth than it occupied at its origin. This unpleasant condition naturally led the better class of dental instructors to urge the adoption of some plan for improvement. Having this in view the faculty of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in 1884, requested a con ference with the executive officers of the three colleges in Philadelphia. At this conference it was proposed and adopted to call a meeting of delegates from all the colleges of dentistry in the United States to convene in New York August 4, 1884. At this meeting thirteen colleges were represented, eleven by delegates and two by letter. After partially effecting an organization the conference adjourned to Saratoga, N. Y., where the American Dental Association was in session. The final outcome was the formation of" The National Association of Dental Faculties." At this meeting it was ordered that all colleges connected with this association should adopt two regular courses of instruction in separate years, before a final examination. The influence of this meeting was so marked that the principal colleges, whether represented or not, adopted this rule, and at subsequent annual meetings other schools

applied for admission and were enrolled in the membership of the association, until in May, 1890, the membership consisted of twentyfive colleges, the entire number, with one or two exceptions, in the country.

The work of this association would, probably, have failed to effect the desired end but for the fact that the various State legislatures were appealed to by the members of the profession to enact laws regulating the practice of dentistry. This was gradually accomplished, and now nearly all the States under this Government have laws regulating its practice. These vary in character, some requiring examinations of all persons, whether holding a diploma or not; others simply demand the registration of the diploina. The board of examiners of each State sends a delegate to the National Association of Dental Examiners that convenes yearly at the same time and place as the National Association of Dental Faculties and operates in harmony with it and gives legal force to its decisions.

At the meeting of the Association of Dental Faculties held at Saratoga August, 1889, an important advance was made in dental education, the following resolution having been passed:

Attendance upon three full regular courses of not less than five months each, in separate years, shall be required before examination for graduation.

It was subsequently decided that this should go into effect at the beginning of the session of 1891-'92. This decision was subsequently indorsed by the National Association of Dental Examiners and became, by this action, obligatory upon all State boards. This rule of the Association of Dental Faculties placed the dental schools in advance of the medical colleges of the country in point of time. It is to be hoped that this is but the beginning of a series of changes that will eventuate in basing dental education on a sure foundation and in effectually eradicating from its ranks the last element of charlatanry, which has been its opprobrium from the earliest period.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, upon the recommendation of the Faculty, adopted the three years' course proposed, and it was so stated in the announcement for 1890.

HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DENTISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

The advances made in the standard of dental education and the large classes in all the dental schools naturally led the educators of the higher institutions to regard the dental profession and their efforts in a more favorable light, and to look upon them with more respect than they had previously been willing to accord. It was clearly seen that eventually dentistry would either stand as an independent profession or it would become a specialty in medicine.. This latter idea was the prevailing one, and in order to hasten the result it was regarded as