Dental Did You Know

Barbers in Dental History

While there is evidence of exploring dental issues as early as the Sumerians in 5000 BCE (or Before Common Era), the American Dental Association cites the Middle Ages as the start of the dental profession. The early history of the profession is quite interesting and the professionals who performed dental procedures might just surprise you. 

At the start of the Middle Ages, monks were generally the most educated individuals at the time so they performed needed medical, dental, and surgical procedures.  A series of Papal edicts from 1130-1163 CE (or Common Era) prohibited monks from performing certain tasks such as surgeries, blood letting (a common medical procedure at the time), or tooth pulling.

After the edicts, barbers began to assume the monks' duties.  Barbers had already been visiting the monasteries on a regular basis to shave the monks' heads.  The tools they used, sharp knives and razors, lended themselves well to surgical work and the barbers had more knowledge of the procedures as they assisted the monks previously.

In 1210 CE, The Guild of Barbers was established in France.  This guild divided the barbers into two groups, the more educated/highly trained barbers that performed the more complex surgical procedures and the lay barbers (also called barber-surgeons) that performed routine services such as shaving, bleeding, and tooth extraction. 


Source: http://www.ada.org/sections/educationAndCareers/pdfs/dental_history.pdf


R. Eric Emery, DDS
Morgan A. Emery, DDS
Smile Station Dental
2901 Dougherty Ferry Rd, Suite 400
St. Louis, MO 63122
(314)821-7100
smilestationdental.com
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