The Beginnings of Dental Hygiene

C. S. McElfish

Throughout lime, man has suffered from the ravages of dental disease. Before the 19th century countless theories had surfaced about the cause of tooth decay.

The earliest cultures thought dental disease was the work of a "toothworm." Ancient Romans in 48 AD attempted to "drive out" the worm by fumigating the mouth with Vapor from burning henbane seeds. This belief in a toothworm persisted, in some cultures, until 1800.

In the 16th century, people believed tooth decay moved outward from the inner tooth, caused by an excess of "had blood". Toothache was treated by bloodletting or induced vomiting.

By the l9th century, theorists were nearing the truth. They figured out that decay started outside the tooth, a process hastened by ingestion of sweet, sticky food. However, they erroneously blamed the problem on luxurious living and overeating.

In 1890, an American dentist working in Germany discovered the cause of tooth decay.

Willoughby D. Miller had been trained in dentistry, but he also held degrees in chemistry, physics, and applied mathematics. In 1554, he became the first foreign professor at the University of Berlin. Using his wealth of scientific knowledge, Miller performed extensive research on dental problems.

In l890, his work culminated in one of dentistry's most important discoveries: oral bacteria, feeding on food particles, produced arms that caused tooth decay.

Armed with this knowledge, people could now prevent by improving their oral hygiene. The era of prevention had begun.

Dentists initiated periodic dental prophylaxis. Empowered With a new slogan ''A clean tooth never decays", they urged the public to improve their oral hygiene habits.

In 1899, after learning of the importance of periodic prophylaxis, Bridgeport, Connecticut dentist Alfred C. Fones offered the service to his patients.

In 1905, Fones trained his office assistant, Irene Newmen, to perform the prophylaxis on children. He entitled her "dental hyglenist."

Fones was an enthusiastic advocate of periodic prophylaxis, and he believed that the service should be available to all children in the Bridgeport schools. He proposed that a school be founded to train more dental hygienists.

Though Fones's dental colleagues voiced strong opposition to the school, he opened, in November 1913, The Fones Clinic for Dental Hygienists. The first classes were held in his garage.

Fones collected an impressive faculty: deans from both the Harvard and Pennsylvania dental schools, nine professors from the Yale and Columbia universities, and three New York dental specialists. All faculty served without pay.

Fones then persuaded the Bridgeport Board of Education to finance periodic dental prophylaxis, and most of the 27 graduates in Fones's first class found employment in the Bridgeport Schools. Their work proved positive: tooth decay in participating children was reduced by 75%

In 1917, Connecticut passed a law licensing hygienists. Soon other states followed and more dental hygiene schools were organized.

Today there are more than 200 dental hygiene schools in the United States.