#9

Although present restrictions on the sale of dentures to the public are nearly uniform, these restrictions are relatively recent developments.

In times preceding any knowledge of how to prevent or control dental disease, dentistry was probably mainly practiced by barber-surgeons who specialized in extracting teeth and artisans who sculptured replacements for those who could afford their services. Over time these two trades combined. Until the early 19th Century when the first dental school was founded, "mechanical dentistry," as it was then called, was learned by apprenticeship to one who was already skilled in the trade. The training offered at most of the early dental schools was of short duration, it was open to anyone and it concentrated on developing mechanical skills. Also by this time another and much smaller group composed of physicians who chose the oral cavity as their specialty and mechanical dentists who furthered their studies in medical schools practiced dentistry as a branch of medicine.