Plus ça change

Two hundred and fifty years ago Pierre Fauchard (c. 1678-1761) was the leading dentist in Paris. By 1746 he had been in practice for more than 40 years and was nearing 70 years of age. In that year, the middle of the Age of Englightenment, he published in two volumes the second edition of his text book, Le Chirurgien Dentiste. Although this treatise has since become one of the foremost in dental literature and its author recognised as the 'Father of Dentistry', 200 years elapsed before it was translated into English in its entirety. The translation was made by Dr Lilian Lindsay (1871-1960) and published in 1946.