1878 1 I MS:!; iiii ■ mmm 11- ^^SlC^lA S^^uo^cl^qAjotv^'v^ THE EDUCATION OF DENTIHTs/lN DISTINCTION — ^ FROM DENTAL EDUCATION. ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFOKK THE ASSACHUSETTS DENTAL SOCIETY, THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 13, 1877 Dr. J. II. |kIDDER, a. B., OF LAWin:N( E. SALEM: PKINTED AT THE SALEM PRESS. 1878. ^\^' THE EDUCATION OF DENTISTS IN DISTINCTION FROM DENTAL EDUCATION. ADDRESS DKMVEKED I'.KFORK THE Massachusetts Dental Society. TIIIRTEENTII ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 13, 1877, Dii. J. H. KIDDEK, A. B., OF LAWRENCE. SALEM: rUINTKD AT TIIK SALEM PIIKSS. 1878. I'KI.VTED BY ORDER OF TH?: MASSACHUSETTS DEXTAL SOCIETY. J. H. BATCHELDER, CUATRMAV, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. ADDRESS. • Gentlemen of the Massachusetts Dental Society : Being elected your Orator, for this our Thirteenth Annual Meeting, I have chosen as a subject upon which to present a few thoughts, — "The Education of Dentists, in distinction from Dental Education." Much has been written within the last few years upon the subject of dental education, and brought before you in magazines and at the gatherings of dental societies, till the theme has become somewhat hackneyed. We have been disposed to boast of the progress that has been made, and to laud our work and our profession as the most beneficent that ever blessed mankind. As a profession, we have been rather too much disposed to sound our own praises, though the blast has not as yet been sufficiently powerful to attract much attention from the other professions, or from society around us. Like the parvenu in society we are too sensitive in regard to our professional standing (or to the standing of our profession), and seek to command by self assertion what we fear society will not accord to our merits. When I analyze the condition of society in this present ceiitury,^ it seems to me that there is hardly (3) 4 any such thing as professional standing, which may be said to be characteristic of any of the so-called learned professions. Seventy-five or one hundred years ago, the lawyer, the doctor and the minister, were the recipients of almost all the literary and scientific culture that was extant in American so- ciety. They constituted an intellectual aristocracy, whose right to rule and lead in society was unques- tioned. And the mere being a member of one of these learned professions, was a passport to social position, to which outsiders could not hope to attain. But all of that has passed away; and this phenomenon is but one of the incidents of a better civilization. The progress of general culture, from the time of the middle ages down to the present moment, has been so universal as to overthrow, not only the old heredi- tary class distinctions, as in the French revolution, but has continued its levelling up, as well as down, till in the Northern states, at least, class distinctions have almost entirely disappeared. De Tocqueville, speaking of the tendency of civiHzation to obliterate classes, says : " The various occurrences of national existence have everywhere turned to the advantage of equality; all men have aided it by their exertions; both those who have intentionally labored in its cause, and those who have sei^ved it unwittingly ; those who have fought for it, and those who have declared them- selves its opponents, have all been driven along in the same track ; have all labored to one end ; some igno- rantly, and some unwillingly; all have been blind instruments in the hand of God. The gradual devel- opment of the principle of equality, is, therefore, a providential fact. It has all the characteristics of such a fact; it is universal, it is durable; it con- stantly eludes all human interference ; and all events, as well as all men, contribute to its progress." These remarks were written by that eminent French writer some forty years ago, in regard to the levelling ten- dency of all events throughout civilized Europe. History, before and since his time, has proved the sagacity of his conclusions. And if they are true in Europe, how much more true are they in our own country. In France, several crowned heads have disap- peared from above the general level, and a republic now rules the empire of the Bonapartes. In our own country, the late war has raised a down trodden and enslaved race to all the rights of citizens of a free republic. But not to take a too extended view, •we will confine our attention to the development of society immediately about us. Free as the society was which was planted here by our puritan ances- tors, still many of the old English ideas of rank and gentility were brought over here, and took root for several generations, and exerted a powerful influence in community. Besides the intellectual aristocracy of the lawyer, the doctor and the minister, there was the aristocracy of powder and queues, cocked hats and broad brims, white top boots, breeches and shoe- buckles, which were the marks of the more wealthy and better educated, or better blood than the common mass of community. Goodrich, in his ^^Recollec- tions of a Lifetime," speaks of that age of respecta- bility, which, according to him, disappeared during the times of Jefferson, and the rise of the democratic party; when short hair, stove-pipe hats, and panta- loons, were substituted for the more picturesque at- tire of the continentals. He gives a quaint anecdote illustrating society, at that time in its transition state. — " About this time, there was in the eastern part of Connecticut, a cler- gyman noted for his wit. One summer's day as he was riding along, he came fo a brook. Here he paused to let his horse drink. Just then a stranger rode into the stream from the opposite direction, and his horse began to drink also. The animals ap- proached, as is their wont under such circumstances, and thus brought the two men face to face. ^ How are you, priest,' said the stranger. ^How are you, democrat^ said the parson. ^How do you know I am a democrat,' said one. ^ How do you know I am a priest,' said the other. ^ I know you to be a priest by your dress,' said the stranger. ^ And I know you to be a democrat by your address,' said the parson." The old federal respectabilities of the party of "Washington and Hamilton, were thus rudely jostled by the young and vigorous democracy, and soon they and their traditions were numbered among the things that were, though some remnants of their influence are still seen in the present generation. A few of us with gray hairs can remember when the children were taught to salute the passing stran- ger on the country roadside with a bow. And the traditions of the former standing of the learned professions are floating through our brains, when we speak and write so .much of th'e com- manding influence in society to which the profession of dentistry is entitled. It is true that the law gives certain institutions the right to confer certain degrees of law, medicine, or theology upon individuals, for an ascertained profi- ciency in the profession for which the degree is con- ferred. But society, acting in its, independent ca- pacity, dubs any individual with any title that suits its humor; and any individual assumes any suffix or prefix to his name, that may suit his ulterior pur- poses. In former generations, the title of president, or professor in Harvard College, would have been considered too sacred for profanation. But not many years ago, in the city of my residence, I was surprised one day to read on the posters about the streets, that Professor of Harvard Univer- sity, would give an exhibition of the manly ait of self-defence, in Lawrence Hall, admission twenty-five cents. On inquiry, I learned that the said Professor 8 Tvas a private teacher in his hne to several of the undergraduates in that respected institution. Thus we see that the title of Professor does not necessa- rily carry with it any demand for respect or esteem. All of us are doubtless fiimiliar, in our individual experience, with plenty of titled gentlemen who never secured their distinction by hard study or hard work. We are acquainted with many governors who never ruled a state, many judges who never sat on the bench, and many generals who never commanded an army. Society is very liberal in its bestowment of titles; it is very liberal to us in giving the title of Doctor" to so many of us who have no written parch- ment to prove that we have earned the degree. But perhaps society is none too liberal, if we accept the Latin proverb ^^ Bonus doctor custos populi," together with Timothy Peacock's free translation, "A bony doctor is a cuss to the people." If, then, public opin- ion is such in regard to the ownership of honorary degrees, and I appeal to your own observation, to confirm what I have said, is it not useless to waste much thought upon what some call the standing of the profession in community. But, in making this remark, I wish it to be dis- tinctly understood that it is not in derogation of dental education, or the education of dentists to the highest possible attainments. But it seems to me that many writers have mistaken the object to be attained, or, at least, the best method of obtaining it. Most of the writers who have written upon the sub- ject, have argued that the door through which one may enter the dental profession, should be the same that leads to the practice of general medicine. As- serting that because dentistry is a branch of medi- cine, therefore every dentist should master a thor- ough course in all departments of medicine. Just as those who make a specialty of the diseases of the eye, the ear, the lungs or the heart, are accustomed to perfect themselves in other branches, so should those who only make a specialty of the diseases of the teeth. Notwithstanding the brilliant eulogies which JVC often see, on their importance to the physical, mental and moral constitution of the whole human race, I assert that the teeth have a sufficiently less intimate connection with the diseases of the other parts of the body, to justify a less extended course of medical education. .They are not vital organs, like the heart or the lungs; slight diseases of which derange the healthy action of the whole organism. ^Neither are their diseases of such an occult nature as to require long and continued experience in order to diagnose them correctly. A patient with some disease of the lungs, the heart or the kidneys, goes to a specialist, and it is a question of life or death to him, and he has a right to demand the highest skill and the most careful training that can be acquired only by half a lifetime of practice and study, because of the occult nature of the disease. No one ever 10 looked inside a living lung or a beating heart, or any other vital organ. Biit we can examine every indi- vidual tooth with a magnifying glass under the broad light of day, and easily and surely determine all that may be necessary for the well being of our patients. And then again the great law of supply and demand will determine the question of how far the education of dentists shall proceed in the line of general medi- cine, as surely as it determines other questions of society. I appeal to the gentlemen before me to consider how many cases of oral diseases out of the line of every-day practice, of which there was any necesj sity for them to treat, or which could not better be treated by the general practitioner, or at the hospitals. Most of us who have been in practice for fifteen or twenty years, have seen a few cases of disease of the antrum of Ilighmore, n^rosis of the maxillae or some malignant tiunors of the mouth, etc., which might have been treated, if we had chosen to assume the responsibility. But when we reflect how many eases have to be treated in our ordinary routine prac- tice before we become experts, I think a conscientious dentist will send these extraordinary cases to be treated by those specialists whose extensive experience makes them better qualified to do justice to their patients. I sometimes hear the treatment of difficult cases related by dentists in our society meetings, which are 11 claimed to have been successfully cured. But, as for myself, though I should unhesitatingly place mj'self in their care for ^treatment for the ordinary diseases of the teeth, yet should I be so unfortunate as to be afflicted with necrosis, ranula, or any of the malig- nant tumors of the mouth, I should much prefer to place myself in the hands of Bigelow or Garrettson, to putting myself in their care. The cases for oral surgery are far too limited in number to afford the dentists, as a profession, sufficient experience to jus- tify them in assuming the treatment of difficult cases. Even among the medical profession, the number of specialists is so small, that the extent of their med- ical education is a question of but comparatively little interest to the whole profession. 'Not one in a hun- dred of medical graduates ever adopts any one branch of medicine as a specialty, and there are probably not five hundred in all the United States who confine themselves in their practice to any one branch of medicine, while there are probably fifty thousand M. D.'s in general practice. IS'ow to oblige twelve thousand dentists to perfect themselves in general medicine, because five hundred out of fifty thousand M. D.'s have chosen to devote themselves to particular lines of practice, is drawing a conclusion to which not a large number of the dental profession will agree. But perhaps some one will ask, how far will you extend our professional education, if you do not think a thorough medical 12 course is necessary? In reply, I would say that I think that if the programme of the Harvard Dental School, the Boston Dental College, and most of the dental colleges in the country, if faithfully carried out, will be amply sufficient to furnish the dental student with all the professional knowledge neces- sary for him to commence a professional 4ife. It will give him a good foundation on which to build up a reputation, that society in which he casts his lot will respect and honor. I have said, if the announcements are faithfully carried out, for I think that dental schools, as well as other schools, both literary and scientific, are dis- posed to put out their announcements somewhat as the different political parties do their platforms, that is, for the mere purpose of rivalry in sounding their own praises before the public. The voter is somewhat deceived as to the one, and the student as to the other. At least I think that dental students must be somewhat more than average scholars to master what is supposed to b« taught in the time consumed in a course of lectures. What then is wanting in order that the profession of dentistry should take rank with that of law, med- icine or theology? It is the want of a preliminary education or general culture, of nearly all of those who offer themselves as students in our dental col- leges. I believe there is not one of the dental or medical colleges in the United States that requires 13 any standard of culture previous to matriculation, so that many of those who rejoice in the possession of a diploma which entitles them to write D. D. S., or perhaps D. M. D., after their names, are deficient in all of those requirements which mark the distinction between learned and unlearned classes of society. In all of our academical colleges, a previous course of study of several years duration is required, to- gether with a severe examination to test their ac- quirements before they are admitted to enroll them- selves as candidates for a degree, to be obtained after further years of hard toil. But the merest blockhead who has failed to get his promotion through our grammar schools has only to offer himself with the requisite fee in his pocket, to obtain entrance into any of our dental schools. Not that I would affirm that many such do enter, but that there are no rules to keep out those who may choose to enter, much to the injury of the reputation of a professional degree. How much a man's pro- fessional success depends upon how much he knows outside of his profession, is rarely taken into account. If you will reflect on what your own judgments are based in your opinion of your personal acquaintances among members of other professions, you will find that their professional acquirements have had very little influence. I think I am right when I assert that a man's professional reputation outside of his own profession, that is, among society at large, de- 14 pends more upon his general culture, than upon his technical knowledge. If you enter into conversa- tion with a cultivated stranger, and he finds you well versed in the various branches of knowledge which he himself understands, he will take it for granted that you are thoroughly educated in what you pro- fess to know. Indeed, it is his only*means of judging of your professional skill, by taking your measure when you can meet on common ground. It is a well known rule of etiquette, not to "talk shop" when in general company; and any possessor of a degree, who can talk of nothing but what per- tains to that degree, will be regarded as an igno- Famus, even by a public as ignorant as himself. It is related of Curran, the noted Wsh lawyer, that he boasted that he could tell any man's occupation by a fifteen minutes conversation with him. One day a gentleman ^as introduced to him by a fiiend, who privately requested him to ascertain what business the gentleman followed. Curran entered into con- versation with him, and found him a cultured and entertaining companion, and for a long time was baf- fled in his attempts to attain his object. At length the gentleman mentioned some transaction, which, as he expressed it, "had taken place on the skirts of Flanders." "Sir," exclaimed Curran, "you are a tailor; a gentleman of any other occupation would have said borders, instead of skirts." Curran's sur- mise was correct. 15 Now, it may not be necessary that we should all be so free from professional language that we should be able to baffle a skilled lawyer in his attempts to ascertain our occupation. Still, the less we are obliged to draw on our professional resources in our contact with the public^ the better it will be for our professional reputation. I have shown in the first part of this paper, that society will not give us much credit merely because we belong to a certain class or brotherhood. Still, every member may honor that class or brotherhood by the reputation which he builds for himself as a man in the community where he resides. Everett, in one of his brilliant lectures, has said, " man has three teachers ; the schoolmaster, himself and his neighbor. The instructions of the first two commence to- gether; and long after the functions of the school- master have been discharged, the duties of the last two go on together; and what they efiect is vastly more important than the work of the teacher, if esti- mated by the amount of knowledge self acquired, or caught by the collision or sympathy of other minds, compared with that which is directly imparted by the schoolmaster in the morning of life. In fact, what we learn in school or at college, is but the foundation of the great work of self instruction and mutual instruction, with which the real education of life begins, when what is commonly called the education is finished. 16 The daily intercourse of cultivated minds, the emulous exertions of the fellow votaries of knowl- edge, controversy, the inspiring sympathy of a curious and intelligent public, unite in putting each individual intellect to the stretch of its capacity. A hint, a proposition, an inquiry, proceeding from one mind, awakens new trains of thought in a kindred mind surveying the question from other points of view, and with other habits and resources of illustra- tion; and thus truth is constantly multiplied and propagated, by the mutual action and reaction of thousands engaged in its pursuit." " Men are sometimes born rich, but never learned," and probably none here have been favored with the fortunate possibility, so that we are obliged t6 secure both prizes by our own unaided exertions. But be careful that you do not let the pressure of daily toil to earn your daily bread absorb so much of your energy that none be left to spend on improving your minds, that your minds and your bodies may not grow old and feeble together. In one important particular our profession has a great advantage over other occupations. The rou- tine of our profession does not require that intel- lectual strain, which tires out the mind as well as the body, as is the case in many other employments. Physically, I think we may be classed among the hardest worked laboring men of this community. The unnatural position in which we are compelled to 17 work, the nervous strain which we as well as our patients have to endure, puts our physical ability to the severest test. But then at the end of hard days' work the brain is not tired, and several hours appli- cation to study or general reading, will not overtask the whole of our compound nature. The immense amount of intellectual work that was done by Hugh Miller, or Franklin, and many other laboring men like them, can only be explained on the hypothesis that their daily occupations did not fatigue the mind, so that after their daily toil was over, the brain was still able to do its full quota of work. If, then, we are not afllicted with chronic mental laziness, every dentist, whatever may be his deficiencies when he first enters upon his profession, should be in a few years a well informed man in ordinary branches of science and literature, and equal to any emergency in which he may be placed, in all the duties of social society and American citizenship. Many of us boast with what success we can obviate the deformities of nature, in correcting the irregularities of the teeth; how we can restore their beauty when decay has blackened and marred their original purity. Inas- much then as we are the architects of ourselves, would it not be well to try how much we can improve ourselves in our mental and moral nature. Cultivate gentleness towards our patients. Re- member that we are operating upon a cushion of nerves, every touch of which, either through mental 18 * or actual suffering, sends a thrill of pain throughout the whole nei-vous organism. Cultivate yourselves intellectually, in order that you may bring a well trained mind to bear, not only upon all the duties of your profession, but also that you may become the equals of the educated men in the* society in which you move. Cultivate yourselves morally, in order that your patients may place a well deserved confi- dence in your integrity, in order that community may be the better for your having lived in it; in order that when you shall pass to the next stage of existence, you will have so used the talent with which your Maker has entrusted you, that it may not be taken from you, and you be left poor and naked. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.