The long climb : from barber-surgeons to doctors of dental surgery / Philias Roy Garant.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The long climb : from barber-surgeons to doctors of dental surgery -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages -- Chapter 2: The Middle Ages -- Chapter 3: The Renaissance -- Chapter 4: Birth of a Profession -- Chapter 5: Dentistry in Colonial America -- Chapter 6: The Birth of Dental Science -- Chapter 7: Professionalization of Dentistry in America -- Chapter 8: Exemplars of the New Profession -- Chapter 9: Mechanical Dentistry -- Chapter 10: Operative Dentistry -- Chapter 11: The Discovery of Inhalation Anesthesia -- Chapter 12: Diseases of the Periodontium -- Chapter 13: Orthodontics -- Chapter 14: Oral Surgery and Oral Radiology -- Chapter 15: Defining the Ethics of Practice -- Chapter 16: Early Dental Research -- Chapter 17: The Gies Report and Beyond -- Index.

'Unlike other books on the history of dentistry, The Long Climb: From Barber-Surgeons to Doctors of Dental Surgery outlines the personal struggles endured and victories achieved by the leading personalities of dentistry during its development from antiquity to the present. It showcases the courage and determination of dentistry's pioneers while exposing the episodes of weakness and dishonesty that tarnished the image of the dentist. By highlighting the controversies surrounding major advances in dentistry--gold versus amalgam fillings materials, operative versus mechanical dentistry, the relationship between medicine and dentistry, and the restriction of practice imposed by patents--this book gives life to the same old story, making this history book the most robust and entertaining of its kind.'--