ADDRESS 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DENTAL SCIENCE, 
AT THEIR 
FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 
in 93o0ton, SDctober 25, 1882, 
BY 
Frank Abbott, M.D. 
BOSTON: 
Beacon Press: Thomas Todd, i Somerset Street. 
1882. ADDRESS 
DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DENTAL SCIENCE, 
AT THEIR 
FIFTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 
0peIU in 93o0ton, October 25, 1882, 
BY 
Frank Abbott, M.D. 
BOSTON: 
Beacon Press: Thomas Todd, i Somerset Street. 
1882. ADDRESS. 
Mr. President, and Members of the American Acad- 
emy of Dental Science : 
In response to the invitation I had the honor to receive 
from your committee, to deliver the annual address before 
the Academy at this its fifteenth anniversary, I have, with 
no little hesitation, and I might add, with no little pleasure, 
consented to undertake the honored task. I hesitated 
because, judging from the gentlemen who have preceded 
me in delivering the annual address before this Academy, 
that an oratorical effort would be required which would 
prove too much for my modest pretensions. However, I 
concluded that I would be among sympathizing friends 
should I fail to come up to the true Boston standard of elo- 
quence. With this view of the situation, I accepted the in- 
vitation, and am now before you to fulfill that acceptance as 
best I can. It is with a degree of pleasure which to me is 
very difficult of expression that I come back to my native 
New England, that section of this great country which has 
done more toward the dissemination of education, honesty, 
and enterprise in almost every walk of life which has an 
elevating influence upon a people, than all other sections of 
the country combined, to speak to an audience of educated 
professional gentlemen such as I see before me. It was in 
the city of Boston where I first essayed to earn my own 4 
bread after leaving my paternal roof in the rock-bound 
hills of Maine. This city and its people I have always felt 
a peculiar affection for ; consequently it gives me pleasure 
to be here, and with you. 
I do not expect on this ocasion to present to you any- 
thing particularly new, startling, nor possibly even interest- 
ing; but what I propose to do is, to give you an outline of 
the past and present status of the specialty of dental sur- 
gery, and what I hope for the future. 
Herodotus, the father of historians, who wrote about the 
year 410 B. C., tells us that among the Egyptians there 
were physicians who devoted themselves to the treatment 
of the teeth, as well as other parts of the body, such as the 
eye, the ear, the lungs, etc. It will be observed that, at the 
earliest period of which we have any account, the men who 
practiced upon the teeth were educated physicians, the 
same as those who practiced any other specialty in medi- 
cine. Very little is known, it is true, of their attainments, 
further than the alleged fact that teeth in the mouths of 
mummies have been found with gold, and others fast- 
ened to gold plates, made of ivory or wood. It would 
seem from this that the ancient Egyptians were familiar 
with some of the processes practiced at the present day, 
and which are commonly regarded as modern inventions. 
For several centuries subsequent to the writings of 
Herodotus, very little, if anything, is known of dentistry or 
of its practice. Some of the Greek and Latin poets speak 
of artificial teeth; but, until the works of Galen appeared, 
which were written in the second century, this science 
appears almost a blank. These were the first and only 
works upon the subject for some fourteen centuries, or 
until the works of Fallopius, Eustachius, and Ambrose 
Pard appeared in the sixteenth century. 5 
It was this period from the second to the sixteenth cen- 
tury which has very appropriately been called “ The Dark 
Ages.” It was like a long, dismal night, when the virtuous 
and enlightened communities of the former all-powerful 
Rome sank into ignorance and debauchery, or were over- 
whelmed by Northern barbarians who, flushed with success 
and encouraged by the spoils of their conquests, carried 
their arms to her very heart; so that, at length, wasted by 
repeated ravages, nothing remained of this once proud mis- 
tress of the world save the grandeur of her splendid ruins. 
Dentistry, as well as all other sciences and arts, during the 
greater part of these ages found a resting-place only in 
those records which detailed the customs and portrayed 
the refinement of ancient days. For some two centuries 
subsequent to the writings of Fallopius, Eustachius, and 
Ambrose Pare, very little, if any, progress seems to have 
been made. During the eighteenth century the attention 
of the medical profession in England and France was 
directed to the subject, and several elaborate works were 
published devoted to it. Prominent among these was 
the treatise of John Hunter, which appeared from the 
years 1771 to 1778, and which laid the foundation not only 
of the English but of the modern school of dentistry. 
From the foregoing it will be observed that nothing was 
known of dental surgery previous to the eighteenth cen- 
tury by any except regularly educated physicians. Very 
soon, however, it appears that watchmakers and jewelers, 
desiring to increase their sphere of usefulness and their ex- 
chequer at the same time, commenced practicing upon the 
teeth. Here we find the first account given of an irregu- 
lar practice of a branch of the healing art. Very soon 
thereafter their ranks were increased by the addition of 
barbers, who, together with the watchmakers and jewelers, 6 
controlled the practice for many years; and I have no doubt 
that many representatives of those trades are still to be 
found in dental practice. From them modern practical 
dentistry has grown. I say modern practical dentistry, be- 
cause all, or nearly all, those who had written upon the 
subject up to that time were regular physicians and sur- 
geons, and not practical dentists. Is it any wonder, in 
view of these facts, that dentistry as practiced by these 
men was looked upon by physicians and surgeons, as well 
as the public, as a mechanical art, and dentists as mere 
mechanics ? I say, Is this at all to be wondered at, when 
men were assuming to practice a specialty of medicine and 
surgery, and to teach it as well, who were entirely ignorant 
of its first principles? You may say that, but for these 
mechanics, dentistry would not have advanced as rapidly as 
it has. Such may possibly be the case; but its advance- 
ment would have been more respectable, I feel quite cer- 
tain. It was felt, however, by many then practicing, that 
an education more comprehensive and thorough should be 
possessed by men who were constantly operating upon liv- 
ing human beings. This feeling manifested itself in this 
country as early as the year 1839, when the first dental 
college was established. While I regret very much that 
the degree of “ Doctor of Dental Surgery ” was ever estab- 
lished, except as a “ post-graduate degree,” at the same 
time I cannot help feeling and expressing a great admira- 
tion for the pioneers in the great work of dental education 
in this country. You may think it strange for one engaged 
as I am, and have been for so many years, in teaching, and 
assisting in conferring this degree, to express these senti- 
ments; but there are circumstances in the lives of us all 
which transpire in spite of our better inclinations. This is 
a case in point. My colleagues, and I think the profession 7 
in general, understand my feelings in reference to this 
matter, as I have never hesitated to express them when- 
ever occasions presented themselves. Not that the degree 
of D.D.S., if properly worked for and conferred, is not a 
great step in advance of the old office instruction, but it is 
like being content with a slice of bread when we want and 
could have, by a little honest hard work, a whole loaf. 
And when we take into consideration that the possession 
of this loaf is the very thing which would place the dental 
practitioner, professionally and socially, on an equal foot- 
ing with all other specialists in medicine, it does seem 
worth the time, labor, and money spent to obtain it. I 
know the great desire of young men, in entering upon a 
professional life, is to get just education enough to enable 
them to make money. Any education beyond that is too 
often considered superfluous, and the time, labor, and 
money spent in obtaining it, thrown away. This seems to 
be the predominating idea with a large majority of young 
men. “ How long will it take to obtain a diploma from 
your college ? How much will it cost ? Can I get a di- 
ploma by attending one winter course ? Can you give me 
any idea of what the examinations will consist ? ” These 
and many other like questions are constantly being asked 
by the would-be graduate of some respectable college. It 
is evidently not the education such men desire, but the 
diploma; that is the talisman which, if once in their pos- 
session, will bring, in their opinion, a lucrative business. 
This is the legitimate outgrowth of the watchmaker, sil- 
versmith, and barber practice of Europe, in generations 
gone by. 
Let us for a moment glance at the standing of dentistry 
in Europe today. I believe that in some countries laws 
exist which compel men to pass an examination previous 8 
to their beginning the practice of dentistry, but in many 
of them any one who wishes can begin the practice with- 
out even any preparation whatever. Since the time of 
John Hunter there seem to have been two distinct classes 
of men calling themselves dentists : one class, regularly 
educated physicians and surgeons, cultured gentlemen, and 
much more scientific than practical; the other, altogether 
practical, with no pretensions to scientific knowledge at all. 
The one has held itself aloof from the other just in propor- 
tion as, in their estimation, a scientifically educated man 
is superior to the merest mechanic. The result has been 
that the practical men have seemingly contented them- 
selves with a low and almost degraded position; conse- 
quently very little intercourse prevails between the two 
classes. No help is offered from the one to the other, 
except that the doors of educational institutions have 
always been open, and all who desired were allowed to 
enter and were cordially received. Notwithstanding this 
fact, very few of the rank and file have availed themselves 
of these opportunities. What do we see as the result ? 
That the most of European dentists are no better educated 
now than their fathers, or perhaps their grandfathers, in the 
the profession were before them. As an evidence of this 
I will give some statistical figures from the Dentists' 
Register in England. Out of 5,289 names which appear, 
only 533 have given positive evidence of either a medical 
or dental education. The fault is often laid at the doors 
of the people, who, it is claimed, do not appreciate educa- 
tion in dentists, whether it be practical or otherwise. This 
may be true; but the unfortunate part of it is, that very 
few of them have tried a good education in all that pertains 
to dental surgery, to see whether the people would appre- 
ciate them the more or not. There is too much of a tend- 9 
ency to follow the Chinese teachings of Confucius in this 
matter: “ What their fathers and grandfathers did, is good 
enough for them,” and it would be sacrilegious in them to 
do otherwise. In some European countries a change for 
the better has already commenced, and I hope it will soon 
extend to them all. 
How stands the record in our own country? Up to the 
time Dr. Eleazar Parmly commenced the practice, a major- 
ity of those in the profession here were Europeans, and 
very few, if any, of them, as far as I can learn, were what 
would be called educated men, but were simple mechanics, 
who could do, for their time, a fair piece of mechanical 
work, to which branch their attention was almost entirely 
directed. Very little, if anything, was known of dental 
surgery proper. I presume I would hardly be accused of 
making an extravagant remark should I designate Dr. 
Eleazar Parmly the father of dental surgery as now prac- 
ticed. While giving due credit to those of his colaborers 
who did much toward its elevation and added greatly to 
its luster, still, the fact is, he was the man who, more than 
all others, gave dentistry its superior standing in this 
country, and the first in the world who attracted any 
special attention for his skill in saving the natural teeth, 
and as a gentleman of education and refinement. Not- 
withstanding the eminent position occupied by Dr. Parmly, 
I am sorry to say that very few were inclined to follow 
his example; but, instead, the majority were content with 
mediocrity. The all-pervading idea was, to make money, 
or I should say a living, with the least possible amount of 
study and preparation. 
I have before remarked that a college was organized and 
put into operation in the winter of 1839-40. Certain regu- 
lations, such as were thought necessary at that time, for the education and graduation of men were adopted. That, 
I want you to remember, was over forty years ago. We 
think great advances have been made during that time, not 
only in our specialty, but in every other in medicine and 
surgery. Notwithstanding, the same regulations, if I mis- 
take not, are in force in that institution today, and the 
same requisites for graduation are demanded. It would be 
natural to suppose that institutions of learning would keep 
pace with the general advance of the profession; but such 
does not seem to be the case with all dental colleges. 
They have sprung up in almost every part of the country, 
and the great, grand idea appears to be, with too many of 
them, how little they can demand of men for them to 
receive their degree of D.D.S. In view of these facts, 
would it not be a little strange for the medical profession 
to extend to graduates of dental schools the right hand of 
fellowship ? Another formidable barrier presents itself 
against the recognition of dentists by medical men. It is, 
that probably not one third of the dentists in this country 
are graduates of any college. Still, we constantly hear 
men complaining that they are not properly treated or 
recognized by physicians. If there were any valid reasons 
why dentists should not be as well and liberally educated 
as other specialists in medicine and surgery, then there 
might be some grounds for such complaints; but I have 
yet to hear the first good reason from any man why he 
should not be as thoroughly grounded in the fundamental 
principles of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, surgery, 
pathology, and therapeutics, to practice dental surgery, 
as others are to practice any other specialty. When den- 
tists recognize and act upon the teachings of these facts, 
then, and not till then, will the medical profession extend 
to them the respect and courtesy due from one physician 
to another. 11 
The time has come when every one who has the eleva- 
tion of our specialty at heart should put forth every pos- 
’ sible effort to encourage young men entering and those 
already in the profession to become more thoroughly and 
liberally educated. Men of old and middle age will soon 
have passed out of practice, and perhaps will have been 
“gathered to their fathers,” and the profession- and its 
practice will fall into the hands of the young. It is, there- 
fore, to the young men that we look for a better education 
and the future advance in the status of our specialty. I 
hope to live to see the time when no young man will think 
of beginning the practice of dental surgery until he has 
mastered general medicine and surgery sufficiently to have 
received the degree of “Doctor of Medicine.” I know very 
well that the question you would be apt to ask is, How are 
poor young men to obtain such an education as you would 
demand? I would answer with the oft-repeated and truth- 
ful assertion that “where there is a will there is a way.” 
Yes, a way will surely be found to obtain all the education 
any young man may desire, provided he has an unyielding 
determination to procure it. The great difficulty is, that 
young men are often too easily satisfied with their attain- 
ments. When, after a pupilage of six or twelve months, a 
degree can be obtained by attending one course at a col- 
lege, do you suppose such advantages are not going to be 
made the most of, and the majority of them be satisfied 
with such marked attainments ? An experience of fifteen 
years as a teacher, and in almost constant contact with 
young men, I am sorry to say compels me to answer in 
the affirmative. This, however, is not altogether the fault 
of those entering the profession. Many men of years of 
experience, who have never been earnest enough, or 
thought enough of themselves or the profession, to become 12 
sufficiently educated to receive a degree, say and do all 
they can to discourage students; many of whom, were a 
little encouragement offered, would not only become edu- 
cated men, but would be honored, and make brilliant ex- 
amples of the progressive minds in the profession. The 
importance of this subject, Mr. President, is almost vital to 
our specialty, and hardly less so to the patients upon 
whom we practice. 
In several States in the Union, before beginning prac- 
tice, young men are obliged to possess either the degree of 
M.D. or D.D.S., or have passed a satisfactory examination 
before a board of censors of the State society in which 
they propose to practice; and, ere many years have passed, 
I trust this will be the case in every State. Until com- 
paratively recently, the importance of laws regulating the 
practice of dentistry was not brought home forcibly to the 
minds of public men; and even now, I am sorry to say, 
the legislatures of some of the States do not fully realize 
the importance of such laws. It is sometimes astonishingly 
remarkable what little interest the public and public men 
take in the educational qualifications men are possessed of 
who are to practice upon them in any department of medi- 
cal science. 
Laws regulating the practice of any profession, I believe, 
never originate with the public, or their “representatives 
in legislature assembled,” but always among the general or 
special practitioners, who desire those contemplating such 
practice to become properly qualified before beginning. 
This, it is usually said, is because those already in the pro- 
fession wish to be protected. Protected from what ? may I 
ask. From unscrupulous men, who would do, or attempt 
to do, anything desired of them for less money, and thus 
degrade the profession ? Is that all ? If so, it is very evi- 13 
dent that the people have more to fear from such unedu- 
cated men; for, not only are they robbed of their money, 
but their health, yes, their very lives even, are at the mercy 
of these men. Still, I say, in some of the States of this 
great American Union the legislatures refuse to pass laws 
to protect the people against uneducated malpractitioners. 
It is the public, not dentists, that needs the protection. I 
venture to assert that the men who have always been fore- 
most in urging and working for laws to regulate the prac- 
tice of any profession, in this or any other country, were 
those who were the least to be affected by such laws when 
passed. It is often said that nothing of importance is 
undertaken by men without a selfish motive. This per- 
haps is too often true; but what can be the benefit accru- 
ing to gentlemen who are blessed with honored positions, 
and abundant practices in their profession, as compared 
with those secured to the people by the enactment of laws 
compelling men to become competently proficient before 
beginning the practice of a profession where the health 
and lives of so many are at stake ? Such questions I leave 
for the public and public men to answer. 
In returning to the subject of the education of young 
men, I will take the liberty of quoting from the annual 
address delivered before this Academy in 1878, by Charles 
W. Eliot, LL.D., President of Harvard University. He 
says: “ Many eminent dentists have regretted the institu- 
tion of a special dental degree, and have maintained that 
every dentist should be a doctor of medicine. Let it be 
granted at once, as a fact beyond dispute, that the full 
training of a physician and surgeon would be useful to a 
dentist. He who should follow the three-years’ course for 
the doctorate in medicine, and should then give eighteen 
months or two years to the peculiar studies of dentistry, 14 
would be a much better trained man than he who has 
given but three years in all to professional study. But 
it is obvious that only those who have extraordinary zeal, 
and an unusual amount of money to expend upon their 
education, will pursue that excellent course.” 
As this reads, it seems well enough, certainly, to lay- 
men, but to educated dentists it will admit of more or less 
elaboration. Why have “many eminent dentists regretted 
the institution of a special dental degree?” Because it is 
an inferior degree to that of the mother profession ; be- 
cause no other specialty in medicine has a distinctive 
degree; because the possession of the dental degree alone 
does not place its owner upon an equal footing with other 
specialists, either professionally or otherwise. “ Let it be 
granted at once,” he says, “as a fact beyond dispute, that 
the full training of a physician and surgeon would be use- 
ful to a dentist.” Let us see wherein such a training 
would be useful. First, it would make the dentist a peer 
in professional and social standing with other physicians. 
His mind would be trained in a broader field of study; he 
would more readily comprehend the pathological conditions 
which he is called upon to treat, and his treatment would 
of necessity be more accurately directed to the alleviation 
of such conditions. Many operations which are now per- 
formed by the general surgeon would be referred to the 
men who would make the mouth and its environs their 
special field of operations. Then it would be that the 
dental surgeon would more frequently be called in consul- 
tation, and his opinions would have the same weight that 
one surgeon’s has with another and with the public. That 
the man who follows the study of medicine and dentistry 
long enough to obtain both the general and special degree 
is a better-trained man — a man in whom more confidence 15 
can be placed — I think is beyond a question ; but, as the 
gentleman above quoted has said, “ It is obvious that only 
those who have extraordinary zeal, and an unusual amount 
of money to expend upon their education, will pursue that 
excellent course.” This “extraordinary zeal” is the inspi- 
ration every young man should be possessed of, and no 
effort should be spared by every lover of our great and 
noble profession to encourage all, upon their entrance into 
it, to earnestly foster it. 
But for this “extraordinary zeal,” would the great Daniel 
Webster have become the world-renowned scholar and ora- 
tor he was — the man before whom the entire nation bowed, 
and who, when addressing an audience, commanded more 
respect and attention than could any man America ever 
produced ? As a young man he was poor. . He had no 
“unusual amount of money to expend upon his education,” 
but instead, after he had graduated from college, studied 
law; and, having been admitted to the bar, he earned and 
paid the money which was still due for his education. 
Again, but for this “ extraordinary zeal,” would we have 
had the “learned blacksmith?” or would Elihu Burrit have 
contented himself with his forge and anvil, and read the 
Sacred Volume in plain English instead of in its original 
language, and been happy ? It was his earnest craving 
after knowledge that kept him during his working as well 
as his leisure hours incessantly studying books. He, like 
Daniel Webster, was poor, dependent entirely upon his 
earnings at his trade for a living and the means to educate 
himself. The result of his zeal was, that in a few years he 
mastered no less than fifty different languages; became 
known as one of the most learned men in the country, and 
as a writer and lecturer had few equals. 
His own estimate of his life-work is thus given in his 16 
own language : “ All that I have accomplished, or expect 
or hope to accomplish, has been, and will be, by that plod- 
ding, patient, persevering process of accretion which 
builds the ant-heap, particle by particle, thought by 
thought, fact by fact. If I was ever actuated by ambition, 
its highest and warmest aspiration reached no further than 
the hope to set before the young men of my country an 
example in employing those invaluable fragments of time 
called “ odd moments.” 
But for the same “ extraordinary zeal ” this great nation 
would not have been called upon to mourn the death of its 
late honored President. James A. Garfield would undoubt- 
edly have remained to this day in obscurity, and perhaps 
still have been connected with the canal interests of the 
country, had he not been blessed with an ardent desire for 
knowledge. You all know through what trials he had to 
pass to obtain it, and what glorious results were achieved 
by this great man. 
I might go on almost indefinitely enumerating instances, 
many of them even among those of our own profession, 
where this “ extraordinary zeal ” has manifested itself in a 
manner worthy of imitation ; but I will forbear, fearing that 
it might become tiresome, and thus its objects be defeated. 
I feel, however, that such examples of earnest seekers after 
knowledge cannot be too often held up to the view of young 
men who are about beginning a professional life. The field 
of our specialty is wonderfully broad—much more so than 
would seem to a casual observer in a dental office; yes, 
much more so than is recognized by (as they claim to be) 
some of our leading dental colleges. Advertisements are 
sent broadcast over the world, stating in about as many 
words that such a college will, in its final examination for 
graduation, demand nothing except a practical knowledge 17 
of dentistry, provided the candidate proposes only to prac- 
tice dentistry; but, if he intends to practice oral surgery, 
he must study anatomy, physiology, chemistry, pathol- 
ogy, materia medica and therapeutics, as well as oral sur- 
gery. In the one case, the same as the other, the graduate 
receives the same degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. 
In another, a university, all men upon entering are 
required to pass a satisfactory examination except those for 
the dental department, thus making a marked distinction 
between the dental and other students, to the great disad- 
vantage and almost degradation of the former. Others 
accept students after a few months’ pupilage, and graduate 
them at the end of but one course or winter session. 
These are facts, gentlemen, which cannot be gainsaid. 
Can it be possible for a profession to elevate itself, in its 
own estimation or in the estimation of the world at large, 
while this state of things exists ? I think the answer 
would come in the negative, very readily, too, from every 
thinking man, whether he be in the profession or out of it. 
What I wish and hope yet to see is, that all universities in 
which a dental department has been established shall not 
only demand the same entrance examinations as they do of 
others, but shall require all dental students to first obtain 
the degree of Doctor of Medicine before receiving a spec- 
ial degree in dentistry; and that all independent dental 
colleges shall receive no students until they have the 
degree of M.D. This would elevate the status of the 
specialty of dental surgery to that point where it would 
command the unqualified respect of all men, both pro- 
fessional and laymen. 
That, in the minds of many good men in the profession, 
this would be too radical a step to be taken at once, I am 
aware; but, Mr. President and gentlemen, if we will take 18 
into account the fact that no trade, whether it be carpen- 
ter, blacksmith, cabinet-maker, plumber, or what not, can 
be learned by taf young m€n, even in this country, in less 
time than three years, it does seem that it is not asking too 
much to require them to spend four and a half or five 
years to prepare themselves for the practice of so impor- 
tant a profession as ours. 
Again let me urge upon young men the necessity for 
encouraging in themselves this extraordinary desire for an 
education in their profession which shall reflect credit not 
only upon themselves, but upon the profession they expect 
to represent.