If we reflect on the advances in dentalpractice made over the past four centuries,it is clear that the most significant contributions to the developmentof our profession were made by a smallnumber of unusually gifted practitioners.Pre-eminent among them was PierreFauchard (1678-1761), who is widelyacclaimed as the ‘Father of Modern Dentistry’.1 He was concerned by the ignoranceof many of his colleagues, anddeplored the selfishness of the more ableamong them who jealously guarded thesecrets of their clinical techniques. In1728 he published a comprehensive textbook,Le ChirurgienDentiste, detailingthe contemporary state of dental knowledgeand making his own observations.
Pierre Fauchard was born in Brittanyin 1678. His family does not appear tohave been wealthy and his schoolingnot up to the best standards of theday.1 When he was about 15 years oldhe began training as a surgeon in theFrench Navy under the tutelage of SurgeonMajor AlexandrePoteleret, whohad a particular interest in diseases ofthe mouth.1 Fauchard held him in highregard. While serving at sea, Fauchardobserved many oral diseases includingscurvy, which was very common at thattime and not only among seafarers.
Three years later, Fauchard left theNavy and began working as a dentist. It is not known why he made this decision.Recognising the deficiencies of histraining he read widely and studied thecrafts from which he might adapt techniquesand instruments. These craftsincluded watch-making, jewellery makingand enamelling.5 This early emphasison what would nowadays be termedcontinuing dental education became alifelong passion for Fauchard.
The standards of dental treatment wereprimitive in Fauchard’s time. Therewere no formal training courses and noformal regulatory bodies.6 There werefew books on the subject of dentistry,although many of those dealing withgeneral surgery did contain some usefulpieces of dental relevance.7 Despite thesedisadvantages, there were probablymore dental practitioners in pre-industrialEurope than is generally realised. Itis impossible to accurately identify thenumber of dental practitioners, but thediocese of Norwich in England was oneof those that did issue licences to dentists,and between 1700 and 1720 a totalof 24 individuals received licences topractice ‘drawing teeth’.
To encourage greater education anddevelopment of the dental profession,Fauchard published ‘Le ChriurgienDentisteouTraité des Dents’ (‘The SurgeonDentist or Treatise on the Teeth’) in Parisin 1728.2 Comprising two volumes of over800 pages including many illustrations,Fauchard shared his considerable knowledgeand observations with colleaguesand students, describing his techniqueswith exceptional clarity and detail.
Pierre Fauchard is recognised forintroducing into dentistry the principlesof openness and co-operation thatresulted in progress towards betterstandards of dental care through rigorousscientifi c enquiry. He eliminated thesecrecy that had previously stifled itsgrowth. He was a man of astute observationand based his treatment plansand clinical techniques on a soundanalysis of similar cases. His work had amajor influence on the developmentof dentistry and is commemorated inthe ethos of the Academy which bearshis name. A fi tting tribute comes fromChapin A. Harris, the great Americandentist who helped establish the firstUS dental college at Baltimore, Maryland,who wrote ‘Considering the circumstancesunder which he lived, Faucharddeserves to be remembered as a noblepioneer and sure founder of dental science.That his practice was crude wasdue to his times, that it was scientificand comparatively superior was due tohimself.’