Question

contributions made by the chinese for dentistry.

Answer 1

The history of dentistry in China is closely aligned with the remarkable developments in Chinese medicine over at least six millennia. Rudimentary dental extractions were performed as early as 6000 BC, when the first signs of adornment with human teeth were described.

Around 2700 BC ancient Chinese started using used acupuncture to treat pain associated with tooth decay. Doctors in ancient China treated toothaches with arsenic about A.D. 1000. They are also noted for their development of using silver amalgam for filling teeth. The Chinese were particularly advanced in their observation of the oral cavity.

The Chinese called the toothache 'ya-tongy' and gave a classification of toothache according to cause. They developed around 18 decoctions for toothache in the form of pills and mouthwashes.

Along with these pills they also used acupuncture as a means to treat toothache and gum diseases with as much a 26 puncture points for toothache and six for gum problems, some of these points were located at parts of the body distant from the oral cavity. They also used aromatic powdered leaves in a process called 'moxibustion' to relieve tooth pain.

In an ancient work called the Canon of Medicine, dentistry is discussed. A section of this work is dedicated specifically to mastication and deglutition. The Chinese were also interested in systemic diseases and their connection to oral manifestations. For example, they recognized that prior to the development of measles, white spots would appear in a person’s oral cavity. Another significant area of study among Chinese surgeons in Chinese history of dentistry was oral surgery. Scientists have discovered many writings regarding the extraction of teeth and the instruments utilized to perform such tasks.

The great Sung landscapist Li T’ang depicts a country doctor cauterizing a patient’s
arm by burning it with the powdered leaves of an aromatic plant. The treatment is
called Moxibustion which is widely used along with acupuncture for treatment such as relieving toothache.

In addition, information has been found in Chinese history of dentistry relating to the abscesses of teeth and other oral structures. The Chinese based many treatments for abscesses on scientific observation. Finally, the Chinese surgeons delved extensively into surgery techniques of the oral cavity.

There were actually four distinct periods of medical development in China: the Mystical Period; the Golden Period; the Controversial Period; and the Transitional Period. The Golden Period was marked by the appearance of the first textbooks to describe preventive and restorative dental techniques, as well as the first colleges. Dentistry then moved through the dark times of the Controversial Period, when war mongering stymied progress. Lasting until 1800 AD, it came to an end with the domination of Western medicine and dentistry.