This book presents a broad historical perspective on the evolution of periodontics from the prehistoric era to the present. Along the way, it highlights key figures and their contributions to our current understanding and treatment of periodontal disease. Emphasizing periodontology’s roots in the medical sciences, the book traces the impact of several landmark 19th-century discoveries—such as the germ theory of disease, anesthesia, and X-rays—on modern periodontics. Half of the book focuses on emerging concepts of the 20th century. Fascinating details about the lives of well-known periodontal pioneers and ample quotes reveal the medical and scientific beliefs of the times. This text will lend clarity to the past and insight into the future of periodontics.

ISBN: 0-86715-424-1
978-0-86715-424-5 , 9780867154245

224 pp (softcover); 87 illus

Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface

Part I The Prehistoric Era and Early Civilizations
1 The Prehistoric Era, and Early Middle Eastern and Egyptian Civilizations
2 Ancient India and China
3 Later Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Civilizations
4 Pre-Columbian America

Part II Classical and Medieval Ages
5 Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
6 Arabian Medicine
7 The Middle Ages

Part III The Modern Era
8 The Renaissance
9 The Seventeenth Century
10 The Eighteenth Century

Part IV The Nineteenth Century
11 The Century in Perspective
12 Anesthesia
13 Microbiology
14 The Discovery of X Rays
15 Clinical Periodontology
16 Pathology

Part V The Twentieth Century
17 The Century in Perspective
18 Periodontal Histopathology 1900–1950
19 Etiology of Periodontal Disease 1900–1950
20 Clinical Periodontology 1900–1950: Diagnosis
21 Clinical Periodontology 1900–1950: Nonsurgical Therapy
22 Clinical Periodontology 1900–1950: Periodontal Surgery
23 Focal Infection
24 After World War II: The Researchers
25 After World War II: The Clinicians
26 Implant Dentistry
27 Organized Periodontics
28 Periodontal Education
29 Dental Hygiene
30 The Future of Periodontology

Preface
The growth of a scientific discipline is marked by its advancement in research concepts and techniques, the development of new therapeutic approaches, the clarification of its mission, and the broadening of its purposes. The maturity of a scientific specialty is marked by a knowledge of its roots, an understanding of its historical past, and a recognition of the role of its forefathers in attaining its present status. The realization that current knowledge is but a fleeting phase in the development of science and technology clarifies why understanding the origins of this knowledge helps to more accurately and intelligently look into the future.

An intensive search of the literature failed to find a book that covers the entire scope of the history of periodontology. This book attempts to achieve this by providing a broad look at the evolution of concepts, from ancient times to the present, that led to our present understanding and treatment of periodontal diseases. We have presented the landmark contributions to periodontics in relation to the basic sciences and clinical developments of the times and in the context of each period’s social and political events. We have also highlighted the accomplishments of the pioneers and included fascinating insights about their lives.

The philosophical basis for this book is the recognition that periodontology is rooted in the medical sciences and, in the greater picture, is related to biology and technology. The medical scientific revolutions of the nineteenth century—the development of the germ theory of disease by Pasteur and Koch and its clinical application by Lister; the introduction of general anesthesia by Wells and Morton, and local anesthesia by Koller and Halstead; the discovery of X rays by Röntgen; and the introduction of clinical and microscopic pathology by Virchow—are the hallmarks of the birth and growth of periodontology as a specialty. Research in the last decade linking periodontal health with the cardiovascular, respiratory, and endocrine systems (among others) lends credible scientific support to the concept that periodontology is integral to the medical sciences. This concept is stressed from a historical point of view.

Both of us have been interested in the history of periodontology and dentistry in general since we were students together in Prof. Irving Glickman’s periodontal postdoctoral program at Tufts University in 1951. After years of collaborating on the periodontal history chapter for Glickman’s Clinical Periodontology and its successive editions, we decided that a book on the subject would be useful for new and experienced periodontists to learn about their predecessors and understand the origins of their profession. To our benefit, one of us has studied the pre-Renaissance era while the other is interested in more recent centuries, which made the division of work an easy task.

It is our hope that this book will be informative and inspiring for periodontal scholars, teachers, students, and practitioners in their continuous endeavors to improve our discipline, and that it will be of interest to dentists, physicians, and allied professionals, as well as medical and science historians.

Throughout the writing of this book, numerous individuals provided valuable assistance at the different stages of its development. We would like to acknowledge George Bernard, Bernardo Blitzer, Jorge Preloran, Robert Rockney, S. Sigmund Stahl, and Henry H. Takei for their helpful critiques and constant support of our project.

The following people generously provided information on several topics and helped to solve various problems: Eugenio Auil, of Santiago, Chile; Lavin Flores-de-Jacoby, of Münster, Germany; Rolf Mustchelknauss, of Stuttgart, Germany; Michael Newman, Sascha Jovanovic, and Jackie Kaslow, of the University of California at Los Angeles; and Alice de Forest, of the American Academy of Periodontology. We are also grateful to Mrs. N. M. Keim for graciously providing information about John Oppie McCall.

We are particularly indebted to Ray C. Williams for writing the excellent chapter on “The Future of Periodontics” and to S. Sigmund Stahl for writing the foreword.

The commercial sponsorship of OraPharma (Mr. Russell Secter) and G. Hartzell & Son (Mr. Andrew McIver Hartzell) is especially appreciated.

The confidence and support of Quintessence Publishing Co, particularly of Ms. Tomoko Tsuchiya, is gratefully acknowledged. The help of our editor, Ms. Arinne Dickson, and her attention to every detail have contributed greatly to improving the quality of this book.

Last but not least, we wish to thank our wives, Rita and Se-Kyung Oh, for their constant support and understanding.

Fermín Carranza, Dr Odont, FACD
Professor Emeritus of Periodontology
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Gerald Shklar, DDS, MS, FACD
Charles A. Brackett Professor Emeritus of Oral Pathology
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Boston, Massachusetts

© 2003