A while back I had noted in a previous column to some other tidbits that may be interesting in the line of dental history. These are some day to day findings such as a common sighting on streets of America that will answer questions that may or may not be in your head.

Let's start with a trip to the barber shop. I'm sure you are wondering why I would bring up the barber shop in a dental column. Time to take a look at history.

Going back into the Middle Ages the barber was quite a different profession than is found today. A trip to the barber could be for a blood letting, a tooth drawing or a boring old haircut. The practice of blood letting was a common treatment for a host of diseases. This is where it is proposed that the red and white barber pole came from. A person who was having a tooth drawn or extracted would also have blood let out to let the evil escape the body. The person's arm was propped up on a staff which the blood ran down into a bowl. These staff's were then placed outside to dry and thus became the tradition of the red and white pole.

How about the trend of hip-hop artists and rappers of today having jewelry adorning their teeth? This is done by fashioning gold crowns for the front teeth with designs or jewels embedded into them. A grill is a slip-on set of crowns which can be removed easily.

Looking back into history this, however; is not a new trend. In the early days of fashioning dentures it was very uncommon for an upper denture to be made. The lower could be held in place by gravity but the upper had nothing to keep it in place. Early dentures were made from carved hippopotamus ivory and human teeth. The dentist would try to measure the mouth of the wearer with a compass or trace it on a card but transferring that into ivory was extremely difficult.

Dr. Pierre Fauchard, considered to be the Father of Dentistry, developed the first effective method to keep an upper set of teeth in place. He constructed a set of springs which were attached to the lower plate to push the upper against the top gums. Soon after this invention it became fashionable in the high society circles to have sets of silver and gold springs linking the upper and lower dentures. Although 50 Cent and other rappers make the entertainment news with their gold smiles, this is actually an old fashion statement.

The dental X-ray has proven to be an invaluable diagnostic tool. Today's digital X-rays, which use a sensor and are connected to a computer, use a negligible amount of radiation. The exposure from a single radiograph taken with a digital sensor of today's technology is about the equivalent of five minutes of sunshine. The exposure times are less than one second.

The first dental X-rays were from around the early 1900s. A doctor from North Carolina was in observance of a demonstration of X-rays and envisioned the use for dental application. He took an X-ray of his hand to demonstrate the technology to his dental colleagues. He used an exposure of 20 minutes! As you might imagine after a number of these demonstrations Dr. Kell developed cancer on his hand and ended up with a lifetime of numerous operations. He eventually lost his whole arm due to the cancer.

I hope I have given you a little bit of fun reading to expose you to some history that can be found in the dental office and also around the community.

Dr. Michael K. Keating is a dentist in Auburn and can be reached at 252-7278 or e-mail him at DrMike@FingerLakesSmiles.com