.jpg)
.jpg)
Jan Steen
1626, Leiden – 1679, Leiden, the Netherlands
♦The Travelling Dentist (1651) ♦
A travelling dentist has set up shop in a Dutch village, where his actions provoke both bewilderment and hilarity amongst the onlookers.
♦ Diagnosis
Main symptoms: Tooth extraction.
Secondary symptoms: Young child.
Clinical diagnosis: Tooth extraction due to caries.
♦ Definition: dentalcaries
A localised, progressive deterioration of the teeth, beginning with the breakdown of tooth enamel by lactic acid and tartaric acid. These acids are produced when enzymes from bacteria in the mouth act on carbohydrates. This initial process is followed by a bacterial invasion of the dentinal tubules. The acids formed break down and remove the inorganic components of the enamel and dentine. As a result, the organic tissue of the tooth is gradually undermined, leaving behind what are known as cavities or dental caries.
♦ Discussion
Throughout the 17th century, barbers continued to provide a whole range of services to their customers. Many boasted of being particularly skilled at extracting teeth. They went by a variety of names, from Zahnbrecher in Germany, to cavendenti in Italy, and arracheur des dents in France. In England, dentists called themselves operators for the teeth. Most of these dentists practised wherever they could find customers.
Market squares in towns and villages were the most obvious places, where they would set up their tables or chairs, sometimes under a parasol. Some even built a proper stage. Others advertised with brightly coloured banners featuring images of patients suffering from toothache who had been successfully treated. Still others hired drummers, musicians, jugglers or magicians to attract the crowds.
The most successful barbers had their own little shops where, judging by the many genre paintings on this subject, a great many teeth were extracted.
These early dentist-barbers also treated abscesses, filled or filed broken teeth, and carried out many other simple dental procedures, including scaling and polishing teeth.
The vast majority of itinerant barbers were incompetent and poorly trained. Shameless quacks promised to remove the worms from your teeth (and your intestines whilst they were at it) or to cure your headache by cutting the stones out of your head or removing an unusually large tooth from your mouth. It was a time of extravagant claims, both in dentistry and in other fields.
Source: Jan Dequeker