Warner & Hanna’s Plan of the City and Environs of Baltimore, 1801, Peabody Library Collection of the Johns Hopkins University
“The rising-est town in America”
In 1797, Baltimore was officially incorporated as a city, and by 1798, George Washington described Baltimore as the “rising-est town in America.”
With a centrally located port that allowed for trade and travel up and down the East Coast of the United States and a National Road that connected Baltimore to the Ohio Valley (America’s West at the time), the city became the hub of culture, trade, science, and industry for a rapidly growing nation.
Attracting individuals from around the country, and the world, Baltimore became a city of entrepreneurs working together to develop a better life.
Dentists Vs. Charlatans
Rarely before the mid-19th century was there a practitioner who understood both the mechanical and scientific knowledge for treating an ailing mouth painlessly. Many who practiced the “art” of toothdrawing were no more than traveling salesman or skilled craftspeople with forceps and pliers. Some would sell “painless” tinctures that provided only a few days of relief, or the perfect amount of time for the “dentist” to move on to the next set of unknowing patients.
Baltimore was no exception to this dilemma. Medically educated individuals, like Dr. Thomas J. Hamilton and later Horace Hayden and Chapin Harris did exist, but they were still in the minority of practitioners. Even with dentists available in the city, healthcare was a privileged experience that many could not afford, further promoting the reliance on craftspeople and charlatans to deal with dental pain at a much more affordable rate.
Reproduction print of The Country Tooth Drawer by William Davison, c. 1815, Alnwick.
Hover over each painting below to see quotes from the respective dental pioneer on the state of dentistry at the turn of the century
An Essay on the Disorders and Treatments of Teeth, Eleazar Parmly, Dentist, 1822
“…there is no art or science so much in the hands of charlatans and empirics, to the prejudice and ridicule of the medical profession, and to the suffering of mankind.’ Here, the profession of Dentist has been but very little cultivated; and, instead of, as in many other useful improvements, taking the lead, we have been obliged to either submit to the impositions of arrogant pretenders, or acknowledge our gratitude to foreigners, for exertions our own indolence has prevented us in sharing.
Portrait, Dr. Eleazar Parmly, c. 1840
Chapin A. Harris, Article VIII: Historical Review of the Progress of Dental Surgery in the United States, with Reflections upon the Causes that have Accelerated it, and the means Necessary for its further Advancement, American Journal of Dental Science, 1851.
“In the early years of our colonial existence, it is probable that no attention was paid to dentistry. The people were scattered over a wide extent of country and generally could have had no money to expend in such extravagant luxuries as dental operations, even if such had been at their option. Their teeth had probably not yet formed the American habit of premature decay, and if occasionally one became refractory, it is probably the village blacksmith removed it with his pincers.”
Portrait, Chapin A. Harris, c. 1840
European Englightenment
Click on the books above to see what texts early 1800s dentists were learning from.
The Age of Enlightenment (beginning in the middle of the 17th century), saw a rise of scientists and medically trained professionals sharing their thoughts, practices, treatments, and discoveries dealing with the mouth.
Individuals in France, such as Pierre Fauchard and Etienne Bourdet, as well as in the United Kingdom with surgeons who studied dental anatomy like John Hunter, Thomas Berdmore, and Joseph Fox, among other luminaries became the forefathers of modern dentistry.
While these individuals were sharing their knowledge throughout the European continent, the American colonists did not readily have access to these materials and were forced to either develop their own network of knowledge or travel overseas for their education.
European Preceptors and the New American Dental Surgeons
While dentistry in Europe was rapidly evolving during the 18th century, dentistry in America was stagnant and in need of a systemic shift.
European trained dentists aimed to establish themselves in major cities including New York, Boston, Charleston, Richmond, Philadelphia, and Baltimore in hopes of sharing the same progress experienced overseas.
Notable among these first practitioners were individuals such as James (Jean/Jacques) Gardette, John Baker, Richard Skinner, and Robert Wooffendale. Each of whom would provide training to several American-born dentists that would go on to play integral roles in the foundation of the field, such as Isaac Sr. and his son John Greenwood, Josiah Flagg, Benjamin Fendall, and Paul Revere.
Preceptorships, or the hands-on training of apprentices, became the norm for passing on the skills and knowledge necessary to address the dental issues of the masses. As medical education became better established in the United States and the texts published in Europe made their way across the Atlantic, these preceptorships were often taken on by medically educated individuals, however, there were still some practitioners that remained self-taught.
Explore a variety of newspaper advertisements for dentists from the turn of the 19th century below.
hours
Tuesday - Friday: 10am to 4pm
Address
31 S. Greene St. Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone
410-706-0600
The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry is an auxiliary enterprise of the University of Maryland, School of Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
