Chirurgien Dentiste, ou Traite Des Dents: ou l'on enseigne les moyens de les entretenir propres & saines, de les embellir, d'en réparer la perte & de remédier à leurs maladies, à celles des Gencives & aux accidens qui peuvent survenir aux autres parties voisines des Dents. Avec des Observatio

Paris: hez Pierre-Jean Mariette... et Chez l'Auteur, 1746. Le Chirurgien Dentiste, ou Traite Des Dents. Ou l'on enseigne les moyens de les entretenir propres & saines, de les embellir, d'en reparer la perte & de remedier a leurs maladies, a celles des Gencives & aux accidens qui peuvent survenir aux autres parties voisines des Dents. Avec des Observations & des Reflexions sur plufieurs cas singuliers. Ouvrage enrichi de quarante-deux Planches en taille douce... Deuxieme Edition revue, corrigee & considerablement augmentee. Paris: Chez Pierre-Jean Mariette... et Chez l'Auteur, 1746.

Second and best edition. This edition is considerably enlarged. "In the second edition, 1746, he gave the first description of 'pyorrhoea alveolaris', a common affliction of the gums" (PMM). It also has two additional plates which are not in the first edition. With frontispiece portrait and forty-two plates. Two twelvemo volumes (6 5/8 x 3 5/8 inches; 168 x 91 mm). xxiv, [8, table], 494, [4, blank]; [12], 425, [17] pp.

Contemporary tree calf, invisibly rebacked with original spine laid down. Boards ruled in blind. Spines stamped in gilt. Spines with red morocco spine labels, lettered in gilt. All edges speckled red. Marbled endpapers. Volumes housed together in a cloth slipcase. Overall about fine.

"One of the greatest books in the history of the subject" (Garrison-Morton 3671).

"Fauchard's work was the first to synthesize all of the theoretical and practical knowledge of dentistry available at that time... The work also contains the earliest use of the word 'dentiste' to describe Fauchard's profession. The first volume is devoted to the development, diseases, and care of the teeth; it contains accurate descriptions of over 100 diseases of the mouth, along with explicit methods of treatment. The second volume, profusely illustrated, deals with operative dentistry, detailing procedures for filling teeth, constructing prostheses (dentures, bridgework, etc.) and orthodontia" (Norman 768).

"Before Fauchard's time the profession of dentistry was truly a 'mystery', for its practitioners had steadfastly refrained from publishing details of their technique and equipment. Fauchard summarized in his pages with numerous illustrations all that was best in the practice of his day and disclosed what had been hitherto jealously guarded secrets. Le Chirurgien Dentiste... is in fact the first scientific work on its subject, and modern dentistry begins with its publication" (PMM).

Garrison and Morton 3671. Norman Library 768. PMM 186. (All referencing the first edition).

HBS 68740.

$6,000.