James Beall Morrison: The visionary who revolutionized the practice of dentistry

Background and Overview,For centuries, dental patients sat on makeshift con traptions or modified straight-backed chairs, which took a toll on the heal th of both patient and dentist. In addition, the lack of a suitable drill r etarded the development of restorative dentistry, allowing minimum care for only a tiny segment of the population. One farseeing American dentist, Jam es Beall Morrison, changed all that in the 1870s with his innovative, fully adjustable chair, which made sit-down dentistry possible. Moreover, his mo numental invention of the foot-powered drill allowed dentists to place rest orations that were theretofore impossible. Dentists the world over became a ble to treat patients more comfortably and satisfactorily, and with less st ress to themselves. Clinical Implications. A newly discovered collection of letters in the Smit hsonian Institution to Morrison from colleagues in London provides insight into how collaboration between inventor and user helped bring about great c hanges in the way dentistry is practiced. These letters also shed light on what dentistry was like one and one-quarter centuries ago, how far dentistr y has come and what changes may be forthcoming.