This ingenious appliance was found still adherent to the mandible of a skeleton, in a tomb which, according to the eminent archæologist Dalli Osso, belongs to a period comprised between the third and the fourth century before Christ.
From the nature of the objects found in the tomb near the skeleton (a necklace, perfume vessels, etc.) it was quite evident that the skeleton bearing the above-described prosthesis was that of a woman.
As the said appliance was found in South Italy (the ancient “Magna Græcia”) it is quite probable that it was made by some dentist of the Greek colonies.
The above apparatus belongs to the archæological collection of Signor Luigi Nobile, in Teano, in whose possession it was found.
| Fig. 25
Seen from behind. | Fig. 26
Seen from above. |
| A prosthetic piece of very peculiar construction (see description), found in 1907near Teano, Italy. | |
The Romans, as well as the Hebrews, and other peoples of antiquity, attributed great importance to the integrity of the dental system. This may be deduced with certainty from another article in the Law of the Twelve Tables (Table VII, at the rubric De delictis), which says: “Qui dentem ex gingiva excusserit libero homini, trecentis assibus multator, qui servo C L.” (Whoever shall cause the tooth of a free man to fall shall pay a fine of three hundred as, and for that of a slave one hundred and fifty.) The as was worth about ten cents American money, so that the first fine amounted to about thirty dollars and the second to about fifteen dollars. These sums, because of the difference in the monetary value in those times, were considered heavy fines.
After the Romans had conquered Greece (146 B.C.) a very great number of Greek doctors went to Rome. The wealth, luxury, and ever-increasing corruption of the metropolis caused the practice of the medical art (which was almost entirely in the hands of the Greeks) to become a great source of lucre. But an art practised with the sole purpose of making money soon degenerates to the level of a trade; it is, therefore, hardly to be wondered at if very few doctors of that epoch have merited being recorded in history.
Among these few, the name Asclepiades (born at Prusa, in Asia Minor; died in Rome ninety-six years B.C.) shines with particular lustre. He was the founder of the “methodic school,” whose curative precepts, largely based upon hygiene, come nearer to those of modern scientific medicine. Unfortunately, all the writings of this great physician, whose name is almost as glorious as that of Hippocrates, have been lost; we do not know, therefore, whether and in how far he contributed to the development of our specialty.
But one of the first places in the history of dental art is due without doubt to Cornelius Celsus, of whom we will now speak.
Cornelius Celsus. The historical researches in regard to the life of this celebrated author have given but meagre results. It is uncertain whether his birthplace was Rome or Verona. The precise dates of his birth and death are also unknown; but it is very probable that he was born about thirty years before Christ, and that he died during the fifth decade of the first century.