Did the Arabs have a role in scientific progress in medical sciences?
The Arabs had a golden age in which sciences flourished, books were written, and great names emerged for scholars who enriched science with their efforts, and dentistry also played a role in their legacy that they left to us.
While this era began when the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, ordered the companions to use the toothpick to clean their teeth.
Abu Bakr Al-Razi: The author of Al-Hawi’s book on medicine, his book was a reference for Arab dentistry, and his many attempts to treat teeth to avoid extraction were mentioned in it.
“Ibn Sina” Ibn Sina was one of the most famous Muslim scholars and most of them worked in medicine, as he recommended drilling teeth whose owner suffers from constant pain.
“Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi” recommended cauterization of the fistula related to the roots of the teeth, as well as the abscess that appears in the gums parallel to the root, and his book contained a description of the tools used for treatment and also recommended connecting the teeth together if they were affected by loosening.
The Muslim Arabs wrote the book “Hidayat al-Muta’limeen fi al-Tibb” and this book is a reference for contemporary medicine, and they had singled out a section devoted to dentistry among its sections.
The Arabs used chemicals to reduce the pain caused by cavities.
They used gum to fill decayed teeth, as well as alum.