MODERN dental clinics with state-of-the-art equipment, spotless hygiene and well-trained dentists are a relatively recent phenomenon, for the roots of dentistry in the Arabian Peninsula run deeper than most people realize. Research shows that the art of crafting teeth was practiced here in the ancient times, Al-Riyadh daily reports.
In olden time with no anesthesia to give patients suffering from toothaches, there was no way to completely eliminate the pain but only mitigate it. In the event of an extraction, a patient’s calmness and comfort was hardly taken into consideration as the procedure proved to be a challenge to a patient’s threshold for pain. Some dentists tried to mitigate the pain by using natural herbs such as thyme and cumin and some even use stewed garlic.
Con artists posing as dentists used to sell gold teeth which many people bought. These con artists would go door to door claiming that they can implant a gold tooth. They would then use unhygienic tools and would only stay in a given city for a few days, perhaps because they were aware that people would discover their ruse.
In the 5th Century, the Greeks passed a law banning the burial of implanted gold teeth in graves except for the gold threads used to push teeth together. As far as gold is concerned, the Western world is not the only civilization that utilized the precious metal in dental practices. The 3rd Caliph Uthman Bin Affan, famous Arabian grammarian Abu Muslim Maaz Bin Muslim and the 5th Umayyad Caliph Abd Al-Malik Bin Marwan used golden threads to reposition their teeth. However, the leading advice given by both ancient and contemporary dentists: prevention is always better than cure.
Muhammad Bin Zakariya Al-Razi, the 10th Century Persian physician, chemist and philosopher credited with discovering alcohol and sulfuric acid, is considered one of the most critically acclaimed doctors on dentistry in history. He wrote extensively about the correct conduct of a dentist and devoted a chapter from his book, Al-Hawi, on dental diseases.
He expounded on treatment and surgery of such diseases and other oral tumors and cavities. All of this information and more on dental extractions can be found in chapter three of his book. He also advised using natural pain relievers. In the event all methods failed to extract a tooth, Al-Razi wrote that his last resort was to use a burnt piece of metal to loosen the tooth. He was aware that sugary drinks and foods were harmful to the teeth and told people to avoid them as much as possible.
The first dental clinic in the Kingdom opened its doors in 1924 and was called Abu Al-Sunoon Clinic. It was founded by Dr. Abbas Sharqawi who studied dentistry in Turkey and was granted an official license from the General Management of Health, a government sector founded by King Abdulaziz to perform the tasks that the Ministry of Health does today. The Ministry of Health did not come about until 1950.
Abu Al-Sunoon Clinic was located in Almathloum alley where teeth were extracted using pliers. Other services such as carving and cleaning of the teeth were done using a pedal-powered machine. The price of an extraction was SR10 and implantation was SR15. Abu Al-Sunoon Clinic was understandably very popular and people from all over the Kingdom sought treatment there.
Medical advancement in the Arab world included all fields of medicine and dentistry was one of them. Nowadays, treatment is quick, easy and pain free. Clinics and hospitals use the latest technology such as panoramic radiographs. Usually, a single visit to the dentist can solve a patient’s dental problems and solutions are no longer limited. Moreover, people do not visit the dentist to only solve dental problems as cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening are also popular.
Saudi Gazette
