Dental practice in Hungary at the end of the eighteenth century

The consumer society, with its pursuit of niceties rather than merely necessities, came late to Hungary. After the expulsion of the Turks, reconstruction of the country was inevitably very Austria-dependent, with Hungary cast in the role of the granary of the Empire and excluded from the economic changes affecting much of the rest of western Europe. As regards dental care, the wealthy might seek sophisticated treatment in Vienna or later in Pest where dental science first emerged. The University was founded at Nagyszombat (today, Trnava in Slovakia) where the Faculty of Medicine was founded in 1770. The qualification of Magister artis dentariae was awarded from 1799. Dental treatment was also provided by other types of practitioner throughout the country, namely by itinerant 'healers' who operated at fairs, frequently extracting the wrong teeth.