Outstanding Dentists

With the demise of the Western Roman Empire about the year 475AD (Christian Era), medicine in Europe declined into a torpor. Monasteriesbecame the only places where medicine or surgery was still practiced.The only people who had any rudimentary knowledge of surgery were the barbers. They helped monks in their surgical ministrations.They stepped into the breach, calling themselves barber-surgeons. They practiced simple dentistry, including tooth extractions and cleaning of teeth. In the 1600s a number of barber-surgeons restricted their activity and dropped the word “barber,” simply calling themselves surgeons. By the early 1700s, dentistry was considered a lesser part of medicine. By the end of the 18th century, it began to emerge as an independent discipline. In the late 1750s the term “dentist”, borrowed from the French, started to be used in Britain to describe tooth operators. The 20th century saw an explosion of new materials, techniques and technology in dentistry thanks to great scientists.

Implantology did not start yesterday. We can trace the origin of mini implants in Europe with the work of Dr. Chercheve in 1963. Chercheve, in his efforts to improve on earlier spiral designs, proposed several theories on the relationship of the metallic endosteal implant to its osseous environment. After that, it seemed that the use of mini- implants was limited to temporary situations as a stabilizer and support for prosthesis. Due to their short-term success, some dentists decided to test their limits by manufacturing implants with the same material as the standard implant and start using them for longer-term anchorage. However, their use spread slowly to stabilization of partials and in some cases, fixed teeth.

Dr. Leonard I. Linkow graduated from NewYork College of Dentistry in 1952 and soon after began pioneering the modern field of implant dentistry. He developed and introduced to the profession many different implant systems and transformed them into elegant and practical realities. Dr. Linkow placed his first complete unilateral subperiosteal implant to support a posterior unilateral fixed restoration, soon after his graduation from dental school. He published his first article about implantology in Dental Digest Magazine in 1953. Since that time, Linkow dedicated his life to the dental implantology furthering. Dr. Linkow is the author of multiple textbooks on oral implantology. Each of these books is prefaced with words of admiration from other respected leaders in the field. Dr. Linkow is considered as the father of modern implantology by his colleagues throughout the world.

Morrison (Dec. 5, 1829 -Dec. 22, 1917) began his study of dentistry as a 19-year- old apprentice in Steubenville. Morrison invented the first adjustable dental chair and acquired both British and United States patents for it. He also marketed the chair throughout Europe and continued to make improvements to its design which he also patented. In 1870 he made his first major contribution to restorative dentistry with the invention of power-driven dental tools. His dental engine consisted of a moveable arm and hand piece onto which a drill was attached and was powered by a foot treadle. He acquired a patent for this invention, continually making improvements to it. At the same time he was also inventing a variety of dental accessories and instruments.

Date: 2015-12-12; view: 401; Нарушение авторских прав