There is value in taking the time to teach history of dentistry and ethics in dentistry curriculum

Objectives The teaching and assessment of soft skills such as ethical behaviour remains a challenge to dental schools. This paper aims to attempt to help the description and retrospective evaluation of a history of dentistry and medical ethics course in the dentistry curriculum of Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University. Methods The study included students (n=78) of the Faculty of Dental Sciences of Cyprus Health and Social Sciences University. History of dentistry and medical ethics are taught each for 1 h, total 2 h per week in the curriculum (theoretical/cases). Students’ academic performance was evaluated with mid-term and final exams. Participants were assessed according to their level of success and failure. Results Participants of the study were 51.3% (n=40) male and 48.7% (n=38) female students. The success rate of the midterm exam was 78.34%, while the success rate of the final was 76.32%. Mid-term exam success was not statistically significantly different than final exam (p>0.215). Conclusions The success of our students in the history of dentistry and ethics course are promising clues for us to propose that there is value in taking the time to teach the course in dental curriculum.

Progressive Entanglements? Activity Profiles, Responsibilities and Interactions of Dentists at Auschwitz. The Example of 2nd SS Dentist Willi Schatz

The history of dentistry during the Third Reich is still a neglected chapter in medical history; especially with a view to the concentration camps. Beyond the theft of dental gold, we actually know very little about the number of camp dentists or even about their activities and how these changed in particular in the final phase of the war. By using as a case study the biography of Willi Schatz, 2nd SS dentist at Auschwitz from January 1944 till autumn 1944, this paper examines the tasks of SS camp dentists in Auschwitz. It points out to what extent the scope of action of the camp dentists changed under the impression of extraordinary events, and clarifies that using the example of the Ungarn Aktion, in which more than 300 000 deportees were immediately murdered. It illustrates that such situational dynamics were an essential driving force for the expansion of dentals tasks. Despite the fact that Schatz was acquitted during the Frankfurt Auschwitz trial (1963–5) for lack of evidence, we show that dentists were not only part of the selection personnel but also high profiteers of the accelerated extermination actions. It can be demonstrated that participation in the selection process – originally reserved for physicians – offered SS dentists access to further SS networks. The study is based on primary sources supplemented with relevant secondary literature, and combines a biographical with a praxeological approach.

Milestones of Dentistry: Advent of Anesthetics in Oral Surgery

The history of dentistry, of course, has followed a constant development since the dawn of society. The dental profession, reserved in ancient times to people with special skills and high rank, after the Middle Ages was diminished and practiced by barbers. The pharmacological evolution of oral surgery techniques has led this branch, today as never before, to obtain a level of specialization and preparation comparable to all other specialist medical branches. Some milestones in the history of dentistry will be considered so as to finally understand how the importance of anesthetic drugs was of primary importance, and which drugs are used today.