J. E. Wichmann combated energetically the practice, then pretty general, of endeavoring to facilitate the eruption of the teeth by incision of the gums. He considered this practice as one to be absolutely rejected, supporting his opinion on the consideration that dentition, being an altogether physiological process, which, moreover, takes place in parts relatively of but little importance, never can give rise of itself alone to serious accidents. Besides this, he says, it is very difficult to say which tooth precisely is about to erupt and at what point. The incisions would, therefore, have to be made by chance, which would often render the morbid condition still more serious.
K. A. Blumenthal endeavored to confute Wichmann’s opinions, with but little success; for, indeed, the same opinions, expressed later by J. H. Sternberg in a more detailed manner and with ampler views of the subject, met with ever-increasing approval. Thenceforth, the practice of gingival incisions in cases of difficult dentition fell more and more into discredit.[537]
Robert Bunon,[538] the French dentist, is one of the most illustrious personalities to be met with in the history of our profession. He was born at the beginning of the eighteenth century, and devoted himself betimes to the dental art, gathering instruction therein partly from different dentists and partly from the few odontological books he was able to find. In this manner he learned pretty much all that was known at that time by dentists in general. He then decided to travel, in order to acquire further knowledge and experience. He practised especially in the north of France and in what is now the state of Belgium; at Antwerp, Brussels, Givet, Maubeuge, Cambrai. In his ardent thirst for knowledge, when he happened to pass through a town where some dentist of note resided, he never neglected to call on him, thus acquiring fresh information and perfecting himself as well in the practical exercise of his profession. At the same time, his desire to learn all that was new concerning dental art and science was so intense that he had translations made of the medical and surgical works of Latin, Italian, German, and English authors. However, all this reading, although it enlarged his general knowledge, taught him nothing, or almost nothing, about those subjects that interested him above all the others. His practical experiences, meanwhile, brought a great number of patients to his notice, and, being by nature a very acute observer, he was able to establish the existence of many facts up to then unknown. At this time he commenced his studies on dental erosion, on the development of the teeth, and on the prophylaxis of dental maladies, his favorite subject. “I felt,” he writes, “that the necessity of having recourse day by day to the extraction of teeth resulted from deficient knowledge on our part, and I considered this extreme remedy as one of the greatest evils to humanity.”[539] He therefore endeavored to extend his own knowledge in every possible way, and as one means of doing this he visited hospitals and schools; and, ardent champion as he was of conservative dentistry and of prophylaxis, he succeeded in interesting medical men and surgeons, midwives and schoolmasters, and parish priests as well, in the question of the preservation of the teeth. The teeth he extracted he kept for the purpose of studying the conformation, the lesions, the dental anomalies; sometimes he split them up to examine the dental pulp. And he never neglected an opportunity of procuring anatomical pieces that appeared interesting to him.
In 1728 Fauchard’s book, Le Chirurgien Dentiste, appeared. The fame of this work reached Belgium, where Bunon then was, and he immediately set about trying to get a copy of it. After searching in various towns, he finally found one in Givet. He read it with the greatest interest, and later, in one of his works, spoke of it in terms of highest praise. It would seem, however, that he did not learn much that was new to him by reading this book, which proves that he already possessed a vast odontological culture and was also profoundly versed in technical dentistry, which forms the most important part of Fauchard’s book. He was somewhat astonished at finding in this celebrated author’s work hardly anything on the subjects that principally interested him, that is, the erosion, the development of the teeth, and the prophylaxis of caries. This circumstance very clearly reveals the different mental tendencies in these two great men, the one, drawn toward the practical side of the profession which principally interests him and forms the basis of his work, the other, an impassioned searcher into causes, and student of prophylaxis.
After the perusal of Fauchard’s book, Bunon, who had already conceived the idea of publishing the results of his observations and of his own particular studies, felt more than ever the propriety and necessity of doing so; and to realize his idea, he established himself toward the year 1735 at Paris. Two years later, just when the manuscript of his work was almost finished, Gerauldy’s book appeared. Bunon relates that he opened this book in fear and trembling; its title, The art of preserving the teeth, gave him reason to fear that Gerauldy might have profited by some of the ideas and observations he had communicated to various persons, to write a book similar to the one that he himself had it in his mind to publish.[540] He was able, fortunately, to convince himself immediately that his fears of being forestalled and plagiarized were unfounded.
Notwithstanding, Bunon was determined not to publish his book until the opportune moment and with all possible probability of success. With this object in view, he made up his mind first to obtain the diploma of surgeon-dentist. To reach this aim, he was obliged to conform to the regulations of the Edict of May, 1699, which then regulated the practising of dentistry, and this was as much as to say that he was obliged to enter the College of Surgery, to undertake two years’ practice with a regularly licensed surgeon, to undergo theoretical and practical examinations, and to take oath before the Chief Surgeon of the Realm. Once in possession of the diploma of surgeon-dentist, he was separated thenceforward from the vulgar crowd of charlatans and invested with all the prestige which a degree, so rarely acquired at that time, conferred upon its possessor; but before facing public opinion he desired to make himself known, and, so to say, first to try his ground, by making known some of his newer ideas, and see what reception they might meet with from his colleagues and the public in general. He, therefore, published, in January, 1741, in the newspaper Mercure de France, a letter on the so-called eye tooth,[541] combating the then widely diffused prejudice that the extraction of an upper canine constituted a grave peril to the eye. He demonstrated the absurdity of this idea by putting in evidence the anatomical fact that the upper canines are innervated by the infra-orbital nerve, which has no relation whatever with the visual organ.
Still better to further his object of making himself a name, he published in the same year and in the aforementioned paper his dissertation on the teeth of pregnant women.[542] There he demonstrated the falseness of the idea that one ought never to extract teeth during the state of gestation, and brought into relief the necessity of treating the dental diseases of pregnant women with still more accuracy than those of other persons.
These publications, bearing as they did the marks of good sense, favorably interested the public opinion. The way was therefore prepared, and Bunon judging the moment to have come for publishing his work, placed it in the hands of a literary man for the necessary corrections of style. He also showed his manuscript to several persons of consideration, but was grieved to perceive that the new ideas put forward in it were skeptically received. He now thought it might be as well to appeal to the judgment of a highly competent authority, and fixed on M. de la Peyronie, Head Surgeon of the Realm. This gentleman, after reading the work, highly praised the author, and Bunon gained permission to publish the book under his patronage, on consideration that he should give his word to furnish the proof of the many assertions made therein on all kinds of subjects.
The goal was now reached, and Bunon, on the strength of such illustrious patronage, published his book in March of 1743, under the title, Essay on the maladies of the teeth, wherein are suggested the means of obtaining their good conformation from the earliest age, and of assuring their preservation during the whole course of life.[543]