Allan I. Abolafia, D.D.S.

Allen W. Ackerman, D.D.S.

1300 Ulster Avenue   ·   Kingston, NY 12401   ·   845-336-5252

THE TOOTH TRIBUNE

A Short History of Cavities The first known cavity was found in the fossilized mouth of a plant-eating dinosaur, which lived in the Cretaceous period more than 63 million years ago. Early theory regarding the cause of cavities Many people throughout the world used to believe tiny worms called tooth worms caused cavities. (Most scientists today think people may have mistaken the pulp inside a tooth for a worm.) A Babylonian tablet, which dates from 3000 B.C., describes how to rid the mouth of tooth worms. The tooth worm also invaded societies from China to France to the Aztecs in Mexico. First evidence that tooth worms do not exist In the early 1700s, Dutch scientist Anton von Leeuwenhoek, used his microscope to discover bacteria clinging to teeth. From this, Leeuwenhoek suggested that cavities might be caused by something other than toothworms. Malvin E. Rings, D.D.S., in Dentistry: An Illustrated History, relates how events then unfolded: "When the president of the Royal Society sent [Leeuwenhoek] several worms that, he was told, had been taken from a carious tooth, Leeuwenhoek effectively disproved that they were toothworms by proving microscopically that they were identical to the maggots that infest overripe cheese. He postulated that the maggots had entered the carious lesion when the owner of the tooth ate the cheese, for, as he said, he had extracted maggots from the damaged teeth of his own wife after she had partaken of infested cheese." Early filling materials Early surgeons Roger of Salerno (12th century) and Roland of Parma (13th century) recommended filling carious teeth with raven manure. According to Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish monk who wrote about dental practices in 16th century Mexico, the Aztecs filled cavities with a mixture of snail shells, sea salt and an herb called tlalcacaoatl.

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