PLUS-CA-CHANGE

Two hundred and fifty years ago Pierre Fauchard (c. 1678-1761) was the leading dentist in Paris. By 1746 he had been in practice for more th an 40 years and was nearing 70 years of age. In that year, the middle of the Age of Enlightenment, he published in two volumes the second ed ition of his text book, Le Chirurgien Dentiste. Although this treatise has since become one of the foremost in dental literature and its aut hor recognised as the 'Father of Dentistry', 200 years elapsed before it was translated into English in its entirety. The translation was ma de by Dr Lilian Lindsay (1871-1960) and published in 1946.