Open wide, it won't hurt a bit?


Total Votes: 349 / Interest: 9480

What do Dentists, Bartenders and Blacksmiths all have in common?

Before the 20th century, dentistry was largely unregulated. In Europe during the Middle Ages, it was often practiced by monks, who were the most educated of the period. Barbers and blacksmiths, too, performed dental services.

One of the first attempts to regulate the practice of dentistry came in France in 1400, when royal decrees prohibited barbers not in the Guild of Barbers from performing surgical procedures except for bleeding, cupping, leeching, and extracting teeth.

The local pub may have been the only source of sedation for many before and after the procedure?