History and Data

Dentistry is one of the oldest medical professions, dating back to 7000 B.C. with the Indus Valley Civilization.  However, it wasn’t until 5000 B.C. that descriptions related to dentistry and tooth decay were available.

In ancient Greece, Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about dentistry, specifically about treating decaying teeth, but it wasn’t until 1530 that the first book entirely devoted to dentistry—The Little Medicinal Book for All Kinds of Diseases and Infirmities of the Teeth—was published.

In 1723, Pierre Fauchard, a French surgeon credited as the Father of Modern Dentistry, published his influential book, The Surgeon Dentist, a Treatise on Teeth, which for the first time defined a comprehensive system for caring for and treating teeth. 

In 1840, the first dental college (Baltimore College of Dental Surgery) opened.  In the United States, Alabama led the way by enacting the first dental practice act in 1841, and nearly 20 years later, the American Dental Association (ADA) was formed.

What may come as a surprise is that the first African American to earn a dental degree dates all the way back to 1869, and the first female dental assistant was employed in New Orleans in 1885.