Black History: Special Delivery!!
Located in northern Africa, ancient Egypt is considered to be a pioneer in the fields of medicine. The Egyptians were also very intentional about dental care. Hesy-Ra was the first recorded dentist and is regarded as a pioneer of some of today’s dental techniques. He was not only a dentist but also a physician and a scribe.
Hesy-Ra lived during Egypt’s third dynasty, around 2600 BC. He served under pharaoh Djoser. Hesy-Ra may be earliest physician and dentitst identified by name. He was given the title “Chief of Physicians and Dentists” by Pharoah Djoser. This title seems to indicate that dentistry was recognized as a specialty even back then. Ancient records reflect that a portion of Hesy-Ra’s dental practice focused on laborers who were building the pyramids. Records indicate that some of his treatment methods included drilling holes in the teeth of his patients. This is quite remarkable when we know that the first dental instruments to perform modern-day root canals were not invented until the 1830’s. The drilling procedures performed by Hesy-Ra would have been excruciatingly painful for patients because anesthesia had not yet been invented.
Hesy-Ra’s tomb was discovered by French archaeologists Auguste Mariette and Jacques de Morgan in Saqqara. Wooden panels in the tomb were inscribed with titles that denoted his official duties, including being a physician, dentist, and scribe. Hesy-Ra is also believed to be the first physician to speculate about the condition of diabetes. He observed that it caused “frequent urination,” which we now know is a primary symptom of the illness.