CARRANZAS CLINICAL PERIODONTOLOGY

THE MIDDLE AGES

The decline and fall of the Roman Empire that plunged Europe into an age of
darkness was accompanied by the rise of Islam and the golden age of Arabic
science and medicine. The Arabic treatises derived their information from Greek
medical treatises but added many refinements and novel approaches, particularly
in surgical specialties.
Albucasis (9361013) was born and lived in Moorish Spain, and his medical
encyclopedia in 30 volumes, called al-Tasrif, was translated into Latin in the twelfth
century and was the medical text used in European universities until the
seventeenth century. The contributions of Albucasis to dentistry and periodontology
were outstanding achievements. 1 He had a clear understanding of the major
etiologic role of calculus deposits and described the techniques of scaling the teeth,
using a set of instruments that he developed (Figure 1-1), splinting loose teeth with
gold wire, and filing gross occlusal abnormalities.
Avicenna (9801037) was possibly the greatest of the Arabic physicians. His Canon,
a comprehensive treatise on medicine, was in continuous use for almost 600 years.
Avicenna used an extensive materia medica for oral and periodontal diseases and
rarely resorted to surgery.