The dental drill is a device used to treat toothache. George Harrington invented the first motor-driven dental drill in 1858.
Dental drill
The dental drill is a device used to treat toothache. George Harrington invented the first motor-driven dental drill in 1858.
- Name
- Dental drill
- Country
- United States
- Area
- Washington
- Time
- 1858
John Greenwood was the dentist of George Washington, the first president of the United States. He made dentures for Washington, and drilled them with a marvelous device made from his mother's spinning machine.
Greenwood stepped on the pedal to drive the drill. However, his device was not widely used, and the dentist still turned the handle by hand to drive the drill. The fact that anaesthetics were first used by dentists illustrates how painful early drilling and extraction can be.
In 1858, George Harrington invented the first motor-driven dental drill. The dental drill is attached to a clock-like device held in the dentist's hand. Other dental drills driven by motors have been invented. Some are electric and some are pneumatic. Today's dental drills rotate very fast, so they need to be sprayed with ice water to prevent the drill bit from becoming too hot. The application of local anesthetics makes the patient hardly feel pain.
