Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1817

HORACE WELLS (1815-1848) An essay on teeth. Printed for the author by Case, Tiffany 1838 vi [2] [13]-70 pp. 18.2 cm.

Wells, involved with Morton (see No. 1873) and Jackson (see No. 1675) in the long and acrimonious dispute over priority in the discovery of surgical anesthesia, studied dentistry in Boston and began practice there in 1836 in partnership with Morton. It was their intention to exploit Wells' invention of a new type of dental solder for attaching artificial teeth to plates. However, they had few patients because the treatment required the removal of any remaining teeth, which was almost always an extremely painful procedure. Wells ended the partnership and established a practice in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1844 he successfully used nitrous oxide as a dental anesthetic. To publicize his discovery he arranged a demonstration at Harvard Medical School, but it turned out to be a failure. Once Morton and Jackson had achieved success with sulphuric ether, Wells set out to prove his priority in the matter. When his efforts yielded little success, he became despondent, addicted to the chloroform he used in experiments, and finally committed suicide in New York. In this small pamphlet, written during the early years of his practice, Wells clearly exhibited his superior knowledge of the teeth and their diseases. In the Advertisement he commented that "the object of this volume is to impart that information respecting the human teeth, which should be familiar to the mind of every individual." It is quite probable that he gave it to his patients in order to help publicize his dental practice.

See Related Record(s): 1873 1675