The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques of Toulouse: Oldest Dental Site still in Activity?

The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques of Toulouse (in Southwest France) is an ancient hospital officially existing since the 16th century and initially dedicated to the treatment of the poor and the destitute. In the 18th century, it became a hospital in the "modern" sense of the word, by maintaining health and trying to cure diseases. The first official traces of professional dental care in the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques by a dental surgeon date from 1780. From this period, the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques had a dentist to treat "paupers" in the early years. The first "officially" recorded dentist was named Pierre Delga, known for having treated the French Queen Marie-Antoinette for a difficult extraction. Delga also provided dental care to the famous French writer and philosopher Voltaire. The aim of this article is to relate the history of this hospital along with French dentistry, and to advance the hypothesis that the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques, now a hospital site of the Toulouse University Hospital, is probably the oldest building in Europe still in activity and still hosting a dentistry department.