[Basics of dentistry from the viewpoints of Rhazes, Ahwazi and Avicenna and their comparison with contemporary dental science]

ABSTRACT

The ancient Iranian medicine, before and after Islam, has a long and prolific history which has been emphasized by many famous historians like Andalosi [11[th] century AD]. Dentistry was among the important fields related to medicine and ancient physicians were interested in it. This study aimed at reviewing the viewpoints of famous pioneer practitioners in Persia regarding various fields of dentistry. Accredited text books of the Persian Empire especially the Al-Hawiby Rhazes [865-925 AD], Kamel al-Sana by Ali Ibn Abbas Ahwazi [930- 994], and Avicenna's Al-Qanun [980-1037] all authored in Arabic which was the scientific language of the time were thoroughly evaluated and topics related to dentistry were extracted from them and compared with contemporary dental science. Also, several dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books were used for correct understanding of the meaning of ancient medical terms and idioms. The findings demonstrated that many of the topics mentioned in the ancient Iranian textbooks had a scientific foundation and are compatible and comparable with the contemporary dental science. Based on the results of the present study and similar previous researches, we can state that the ancient Iranian medicine is not at all distant from the contemporary science. It is the foundation of the contemporary medicine and further researches on the medical history of ancient Persia can reveal many valuable findings that can be used for educational, therapeutic and research purposes: