Fix My Teeth in Comfort . . .

By Suzanne Norquist

 

. . . Yeah, right.

One constant in dental offices today is the style of the chair. I can go anywhere in the United States and rest in comfort while I have my teeth cleaned or filled (or worse). I stretch my legs out and recline my head to a height where the dentist or hygienist can work while sitting.

Until the late 1700s, specialized dental chairs didn’t exist. Before that, a patient usually sat on the floor, often with their head held between the practitioner’s knees while he extracted a tooth. Few other procedures were available.

Otherwise, a dentist might use a regular chair. Perhaps a rocking chair with a log to block it into a reclined position. Or maybe a fancy upholstered armchair, which would convince the patient of the dentist’s competence. Who wouldn’t feel confident in a plush chair with eagle’s head carvings?

Josiah Flagg, a Boston dentist, is credited with inventing the first dental chair in 1790. He modified a simple wooden Windsor writing chair with a padded headrest. Then he added a tray for storing tools of the trade. It would have looked similar to the one below. I doubt this would have been more comfortable than the floor.

It would be another forty years before Englishman James Snell designed a chair with an adjustable seat and back. As a dentist, he found the inconvenience of a regular armchair frustrating. His design had a seat that would go up and down, a back that would tilt backward and forward, and a footrest. Leaning back in the chair would raise the footrest. It even included a table to hold a candle so the patient wouldn’t have to.

This chair didn’t move smoothly, and adjustments were limited. Many improvements were required before chairs resembled the ones we see today.

In the 1840s, with the introduction of nitrous oxide and ether for anesthesia, dentists could perform longer procedures, making a stable chair a necessity. Samuel Stockton White began manufacturing dental tools and furniture in the S.S. White Manufacturing Company. He jumped on each new innovation.

Various dentists made improvements. However, most were clunky.

Dr. James Beall Morrison patented a design in 1867 that included a ball socket and joint with a foot pedal, the ability to tip in any direction, and a vertical adjustment of over three feet. This allowed the dentist to stand or sit while working. The chair was constructed with iron for durability. The dentist would crank the chair into position.

In 1877, Basil Manly Wilkerson added hydraulic adjustments to the chair. Instead of cranking to situate the patient, the dentist could simply use a lever. The S.S. White Company manufactured and sold these chairs. 

The small print on the advertisement says, “You can pay a higher price, but you cannot get a better made chair at any money than the Wilkerson. It is built to endure the use to which it is put. It will last almost a lifetime. There are plenty of them still in good form after more than twenty years of active service. It has all the movements which go to making operating easy for the patient and the operator. At its price, also, it is the cheapest chair at the service of the dentist.”

By the early 1900s, most chairs were metal for cleanliness. And in the 1940s, electric motors drove the lifts. Since then, they haven’t changed much.

Next time I visit the dentist, I’ll try to be grateful for the ergonomic chair instead of complaining about the other things that happen during the visit. 

***

 

Love In Bloom 4-in-one collection

“A Song for Rose” by Suzanne Norquist

Can a disillusioned tenor convince an aspiring soprano that there is more to music than fame?

“Holly & Ivy” by Mary Davis

At Christmastime, a young woman accompanies her impetuous younger sister on her trip across the country to be a mail-order bride and loses her heart to a gallant stranger.

“Periwinkle in the Park” by Kathleen E. Kovach

A female hiking guide, who is helping to commission a national park, runs into conflict with a mountain man determined to keep the government off his land.

“A Beauty in a Tansy”

Two adjacent store owners are drawn to each other, but their older relatives provide obstacles to their ever becoming close.

Republished from Bouquet of Brides

Buy links: https://books2read.com/u/bOOx8K

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Bloom-Mary-Davis/dp/B0FPLFYCXR/

  

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.