Greece
The first medical schools emerged in the sixth century BC. They came to be known of theCyrene,
Rhodes andKos. Among all the schools in the Hellenistic
period, the highlight was the medicalschool ofAlexandria. In these first schools education was free and
paid, and established close ties between students and disciples. This was reflected in the Hippocratic Oath. However, it seems that there was neither an
established curriculum, nor procedures to terminate their studies. The Greek people developed a new way of
thinking and living known as the "Greek miracle." The wise will become keeper of rational
knowledge, ceasing to be a magician or priest mediator of supernatural
power. The supernatural interpretations
of the disease began to be replaced by natural explanations in which there was
a clear philosophical influence. In this
way, scientific and medical speculation was formed.
In this period teaching hospitals will be
used. Some of the first hospitals,
founded in theByzantine Empire, had medical
students and even hosted medical libraries. However, it was in the Islamic
Empire where this system was more developed.
In hospitals there were Arab libraries and meeting rooms where discussions
were held and students were encouraged to read classical medical texts, both
philosophical and literary. Meanwhile,
inWestern Europe, hospitals had a religious
character and were dedicated to the care of all the indigent.
Ancient dentistry
The history of dentistry began in the year 3000 BC when Egyptian doctors inlaid
precious stones in teeth. Three
centuries later, inChina,
acupuncture will be used to treat pain associated with dental caries.
Acupuncture is under the so-called alternative medicines. It is based in the
belief that there is a body in the energy flowing through twelve channels that
can become clogged, and this circumstance is responsible for the disease there.
In 700 BC, the
Etruscans and the Phoenicians used gold bands and wires for the construction of
dentures. The bands holding extracted teeth were placed where there were no
teeth and, with wires, they were retained in the mouth. In addition, the Etruscans and the
Phoenicians were the first to use material for implants, such as ivory and
seashells.
It should be mentioned the Mayan people, used inlays
with gold, precious stones and minerals not only for the restoration of teeth
for aesthetics but also for decoration. Subsequently, the Incas and the Aztecs
took on the methods of the Maya for the reconstruction of teeth.
Hippocrates is considered the father of
medicine. His theories about disease
were based on observation and the first to be respected. Hippocrates and Aristotle wrote about ointments
and sterilization procedures, using a hot wire to treat diseases of the teeth
and oral tissues. They also studied
tooth extractions and the use of wires to stabilize jaw fractures and link
missing teeth.
Middle Ages
Medicine in the Middle Ages (the fifth through fifteenth centuries) is divided
into two periods: the monastic medicine and the universities. The monastic
medicine was preached in monasteries, where many books from the Arabic world
were translated. Significantly the Medical School of Salerno, founded in the
tenth century, was the first center of secular medical teaching inWestern Europe: there existed a body of healers who
taught a regulated lesson, with a program and teaching method. This lasted until the emergence of the first
universities.
The first universities were founded in the late
twelfth century, including the highlights fromParis,
London andOxford. They used to be composed of four faculties:
Arts, Theology, Law and Medicine. The
teaching of medicine in universities was very theoretical and focused on the
study of texts; students were not taught clinical practice.
In relation to Dentistry, mention should be made to Bernard Gordon who
introduced the theory of loosening of teeth.
Also Guy de Chauliac, who made stipulations regarding dental hygiene and
tooth decay, noting that there were three phases: production of pain, producing
pain without stimulus Phlegmonosum, and external; and Giovanni Da Vigo who was
among the first to make fillings with gold leaf.
Versalio was among the
first to describe and illustrate all the structures of the human body, and even
came to contradict Galen. He developed a
descriptive anatomy, contrary to the structural, which in its section on teeth
and bones was brilliant on dental illustrations.
Dentistry Renaissance
During the Renaissance (the 1600s) there were two events that transformed the
teaching. Medical Humanism led to the
recovery of classical texts and ideas with all their original force. In addition it served to revive and
reinterpret old teaching methods, among them direct contact with students of
anatomy and the sick with drugs.
Also significant was the invention of printing
allowing the duplication and dissemination of new books. The ancient medieval manuals were replaced at
first by classical texts, printed and recovered in their original purity. Already in the second half of the 1600s,
treatises began to appear that introduced modern medical developments that are
not covered by the old. The first text
referring to dentistry will be Charles Allen’s
“The Operator for Teeth.”
