Text by Dr Paul Moreira, Clínica Pacifico
First off, I would like you to get comfortable, lay back and imagine a world without tooth brushes, mouthwash or dental floss. That’s easy right? Well, there would certainly be a lot of tooth ache and oral health issues in this world, right? However, the fact is that until the 18th century, oral health care did not exist. So, the only way to deal with a serious case of tooth ache would be to call on the services of local trades people, blacksmiths, travelling showmen and the so called ‘barber surgeons’, since they all had a side job in tooth extraction. This was well before the invention of anaesthesia, so we can all imagine the experience – simply horrible.
Let’s put the history of dental care under the microscope and let’s start at the very beginning. With the fall of the Roman Empire, mediaeval Europe basically regressed to the knowledge of the early Greeks and Romans, and whatever medical care existed then, ended up on the hands of barbers, largely in the result of barbers having close contact with monks. They had been required to be clean shaved, and so they had them eventually assisting with the surgical procedures. The pope, in 1163, decided to end any type of procedure that involved those associated with religion. Monks to barbers, eventually lead to dentists.
Luckily nowadays dentistry can be a much nicer experience, so to avoid tooth ache or any other problems, book your check-up with us and come and meet the team!
Clínica Pacifico is located in Albufeira and opened Monday to Friday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. And we’re also available on WhatsApp!
(+351) 289 543 545
(+351) 963 060 648
[email protected] | www.clinicapacifico.com
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