This is an early hand-forged dental extraction forceps probably from the 1600s. Dental forceps were known since the antiquity. Greeks and Romans used them, although they prefered to soften up the alveolar bone first, rocked the tooth with two fingers before removing it either with a forceps or just two fingers. Archeological finding in a 1st Century C.E. Roman Forum “shop” of a collection of 96 extracted molar teeth show remarkable integrity for teeth with curved roots. No fractured roottips. It demonstrates a very skillful tooth-puller. Forceps were used by Islamic surgeons, by early European surgeons and after the appearance of the printing press all surgical texts included drawings of forceps. It is an instrument used for toothremoval for the past 2000 years. Forceps became more sophisticated in 1841 when the English surgeon John Tomes designed tooth-specific forceps. That, along with the discovery of general/local anesthesia and sterility, led to better toothextractions. Description by Andrew I. Spielman
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