Dental tools have seen tremendous advancements over the eras. And as technology advances, so do the simplicity and usefulness of these tools. Now Let's take a brief trip into the past and take a look at a few of these archaic dental devices as well as how have they've transformed into, in modern dentistry that we today.

The “Bow” Drill

Imagine yourself 8,000 years ago, with a terrible toothache. No modern technique or medicine, how would you cure the situation? Well in that time, a "bow drill" was apparently in usage to drill into the tooth, removing the decayed material. This bow has a resemblance to one that a cub scout mainly uses to spark a fire in the woods, but instead of starting friction, it is drilling.

Accordingly, this was also around the time where dental assistants became a vital addition to the office. Often these assistants were asked to hold down the arms and legs of the patients because the drilling process was excruciatingly agonizing.

Potentially even more hunting and painful, especially tooth or molar extractions were also a crucial evil of the dental world. We are so fortunate that today we have pain-killing medications that will make the experience a little more tolerable. We also have uniquely developed tools and dental equipment servicing methods that make the process safer and hygienic as well. This, however, hasn't always been the case.

Tooth Extractions by a Barber?

Up until the 16th to 17th century, the job of a dentist wasn't performed by a trustworthy dental professional, but instead by a barber. Yes, a Barber! The tools that he/she would use more compared with ancient torture-like devices than dental tools. One, in particular, we can name is The Pelican, which resembled a pelican's beak and was utilized to forcefully rip a tooth out of a patient's mouth as fast as possible. Definitely not very painless, but were effective regardless.

Other Primitive Dental Tools

The other tools that were used in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds, included various scrapers, vices, gougers, openers, devised to separate or completely isolate a tooth problem and readily eliminate the cause behind the pain.

Early Cap Fillings

Toward the beginning of the 19th century, many dentists started operating with metal to be filled in drilled holes, making the first dental fillings. For this, they would heat various types of metals to soften them, then place the said softened metal into the drilled tooth. This metal into the hole was then carefully molded to fit perfectly against the tooth, making it more comfortable to chew and swallow with the filling of metal.

These earlier time fillings were made out of a wide variety of metals. Some of these, named silver and gold, are still used today, but most of them were later found to be hazardous for the patient's health.

Wrapping Up the History,

Today, we take for granted the fantastic job that our dental equipment servicing carriers do every day. No, it isn't 100% pain-free and instant yet - but that too will be achievable in the distant future. For now, let's enjoy the fact that we're better off than we were even 20 years ago and definitely better off than the poor folks who went to the dentist in the 16th and 17th centuries.