Statewide County OhArchives News.....Tid-Bits - Part 114A: Dentistry in the Western Reserve May 19, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/oh/ohfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374 May 20, 2008, 11:47 pm Historical Collections Of Ohio, And Then They Went West, Know Your Ohio May 10, 2008 May 19, 2008 Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Darlene E. Kelley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00026.html#0006374. May 19, 2008 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Historical Collections of Ohio And then They Went West Know Your Ohio Tid-Bits - Part 114 A Dentistry in the Western Reserve ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 114 A " Ouch My Aching Tooth " Dentistry in the Westeren Reserve Mound Builders The existing records of the prehistorc inhabitants of the Western Reserve are shrouded in the dim past. With the advent of the Mound Builders there is definate evidence of the characterof the early inhabitants. This civilization of two thousand or three thousand years ago left no system of writing by which to record their deeds, their wars and conquests, ot their rise and destiny which are all shrouded in mystery. Something is known, however, of their tools and weapons, ear rings and ornaments, their buriial customs, their agriculture and commerce, and their food products. It is a story without beginning or end. The Buial Mounds which they built and from which they have derived their name, the Mound Builders, are their most numerous and prominent remains. It is believed by many archaeologists that the Mound Builders were indians and that they flourished as late as the centuries just preceeding the discovery of America In one of the graves a human inferior maxillary bone was found; This jaw when taken from the grave was considered perfect, but on the examination, it was found to be an adult jaw with three incisor teeth gone. The loss had been replaced by three incisor teeth of the deer. The deer teeth have very long roots, but these were cut and properly fitted into the socket of the human jaw to replace the lost human teeth and make the ornament appear perfect, as only jaws with a perfect set of teeth were used. Different parts of the jaw show polishing and cutting. The symphysis is cut and some work in polishing done. The sigmoid notch also shows by notches cut into the bone near the neck that the ornament was attached at this point. The coronoid process is also slightly polished, and parts of the body of the jaw show polishing and cutting. The rami of the jaw is colored green from the copper ear ornaments which were placed in the grave in contact with the jaw. Another interesting ornament was made of the upper jaw or superior maxillary bones and was made by cutting the bone from the face above the alveolar process and leaving the palate intact. The jaw is perfect with the exception of the last molar on each side which have been cut away. The attachment was made through the posterior canal which had been enlaged by boring. Among the various and curious customs of the Mound Builders is one which the skulls and jaws of captured enemies were retained as trophies. The skulls and jaws were also those of departed relatives. In 1815, a human jaw-bone was found in a road which had been cut through a mound. Near the bone was an artificial tooth of metal which exactly fitted a cavity in the jaw. Early Physicians When Moses Cleaveland, agent in charge for the Connecticut Land Company, and his party sailed to the banks of the Cuyahoga River they had among them a physician. Among the instruments carried by all pioneer physicians were forceps, and it was common practice for the physicians to extract aching teeth. They did no operative work on the teeth. A simular party, under the leadership of David Hudson, arrived on June 5, 1800, in their destined township which consisted of lands they had purchased from the Connecticut Land Company. They named the township, Hudson, in honor of their leader. There were twenty-nine persons in the party, among whom was Dr. Thompson, the first physician to establish himself in the Western Reserve. For many years he was the only physician between Coshocton and Lake Erie and westward from Warren. He was the nearest physician to the village of Cleveland until 1810 when Dr. David Long came to Cleveland. Dr. Thompson rode a circuit on horeback, and in winter on a " cutter " which was a light sleigh, carrying his instruments and drugs in saddlebags. He rode from one settlement to the next, sometimes being away from home for a week. One one occasion he was called to go to Cleveland, a ride of twenty-five miles, on a stormy night to extract an aching tooth. David Long being Cleveland's first physician, paints a verbal portrait of Cleveland in 1810. Ohio had been admitted to the Union but seven years previously, and Cleveland was still an unincorporated village, comprising two frame and six or eight log dwellings, with a total population of fifty-seven people. During the previous year the county of Cuyahoga had been formed, the Cleveland postoffice had been in operation for only six years, permitting the receipt and dispatch of letters every seven days. The surrounding country was a wilderness without roads, streams were not yet bridged and settler's cabins were in places eight to ten miles apart. No professional colleague was nearer than Painsville on the east, Hudson on the southeast, Wooster on the south and River Raisen ( Monroe ) on the west. Of the ordinary diseases of this frantic life, the agues and dysenteries were the most prevalent and troublesome. The former was due to the myrids of mosquitoes infecting the swales and bogs of the river flatlands and the latter to impure water, improper food and unavoidable exposure of a fickle climate and rude living conditions. Rugged indeed were the living conditions in which the pioneers of the Western Reserve lived. Much of the detailed record of early dentistry in the Western Reserve has been lost and investigation of what ever record there was left, has been very limited. Having set the first scene in which early dental pioneers practiced , let us review the characters. The pioneers of the Estern Reserve required dental attention and this service was furnished by itinerant dentists. Probably the first itinerant dentists supplying this service, were S. Hardyear and Dr. Wade. Their mode of transportation was horseback as stated and in winter a " cutter " was used. There were no wheeled vehicles, except wagons in the village of Hudson until 1834, whe the new president of Western Reserve College brought a spring buggy. It was considered unchristian since it was too suggestive of case and luxury, and the president was serverly criticized for his possession of this spring buggy. Pittsburg was the nearest source of drug supply. There was a semi-weekly connection by stage with Pittsburgh. The first dental advertisement appearing in a Cleveland newspaper was one placed by S. Hardyear. Cleveland Herald June 30, 1826 Dentist The subscriber has taken a room for a few weeks, at the Franklin House, where he offers to perform all operations in Dentistry. Artificial Teeth inserted ( in most cases without pain ) in such a manner as to be equal in appearance, and nearly in durability to natural ones. Persons residing in the village can be attended at their homes. S. Hadyear. The above notice appears in the Herald again on July 14, 27, 28 and on August 4. and to the latter is added " due to the reponse I will remain one week longer." Probably the earliest attempt toward preventive dentistry and interdental method of brushing appears in the form of an advertisement in the Cleveland Herald and no doubt was written by S. Hardyear. Herald July 28, 1826. For the benefit of those who cannot have the advantage of proper instruments to remove tartar, we recommend the use of a penknife as a substitute. In many cases the tartar can be readily be scaled off by it, leaving the teeth perfectly clean and without the slightest injury to the enamel. Great care should be taken to remove every particle between the necks of the teeth and gums. Charcoal prepared by burning bread will be found better than cologne water. It should be pulverized immediately after burning, and kept for use in a tight vessel; use as a dentifrice two or three times a week. Teeth should be brushed perpendicularly, in order to cleanse between them; the minor surfaces should not be neglected, the foul one of the underjaw particlar Another advertisement simular in text appeared on the same day in the Herald. Herald July 28, 1826 We have often said that the teeth require great care. First let them be well set in order by removing the tartar, etc. , with proper instrument, and using frequently a large and stiff brush as can be procured It should be used dry two or three times a week; for this will harden the gums and prevent the collection of extraneous matter and give a fine polish to the teeth. A simple brush however hard, can never injure the enamel, and a soft brush is worse than useless. The best brushes seldom admit of use more than a month or two, when they become soft and are good for nothing. Cologne water diluted may be used occasionally, and will be found both agreeable and useful.It will give a fine clear complexion to the teeth, and preserve the breath pure and fragrant Medical Intelligence. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To be con't in part 114 B. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/oh/statewide/newspapers/tidbitsp115nw.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/ohfiles/ File size: 10.1 Kb