Dental History

18th-century

Tooth extraction keys were named because of their resemblance to skeleton door keys. This 18th century iron key is about 6 inches long.

Mid 1800s

Traveling dentists, moving from town to town to provide dental care, would have transported their instruments in a leather roll.

1893

The Favorite Dental Chair, manufactured by the Ritter Dental Manufacturing Company.  It was put on the market on January 1, 1901 and cost between $150 and $172 depending on whether the upholstery was ordered in seal leather, cane, or mohair plush. The sectional headrest was $10 extra. The range of the Model No. 1 Favorite Chair was from 18 inches at the lowest position to 35 inches at the highest position. The lowest position of the chair when tilted back was 12 inches.

Late 1800s

Eight months after the discovery of the x-ray was announced in 1896, Louisiana dentist C. Edmund Kells demonstrated the first dental application of this new technology in the U.S (Pictured x-ray tube, Machlett Company, 1913)

1958

The Den-Tal-Ez Chair was the first successful reclining dental chair.  Within a decade of its introduction almost all dentists were using reclining dental chairs.