Dentologia: A poem on the diseases of the teeth, and their proper remedies

“Dentologia” by Solyman Brown is a didactic medical poem written in the early 19th century. It versifies the causes, prevention, and treatment of dental diseases while arguing for the social, aesthetic, and health importance of sound teeth, blending moral exhortation with practical care.

The opening of Dentologia frames the poem’s purpose through a preface praising its utility and warning against incompetent practitioners, followed by a dedicatory letter that situates the work within professional dentistry. Canto I invokes living beauty, links character to countenance, proposes dentistry as its theme, and explains the natural shedding of children’s teeth and the need for skilled oversight. Canto II treats first and second dentition, endorses timely lancing and extractions to prevent pain and deformity, and lauds the teeth’s perfected design. Canto III condemns luxury, intemperance, and uncleanliness, urges daily oral hygiene, and illustrates neglect through Urilla’s ruined smile, introducing caries and toothache and their relief. Canto IV outlines remedies—filing, gold fillings, extractions, and artificial teeth—celebrating the art’s humane benefits; Canto V ties dental health to digestion, nerves, speech, eloquence, and song, with brief scenes of orator, pastor, and a singer whose voice is saved by dental skill. The appended notes begin supplying historical and practical authorities to support these claims.