C. Edmund Kells

Dentist C. Edmund Kells with his lady assistants . Around 1900.

Charles Edmund Kells Jr. (born October 21, 1856 in New Orleans , Louisiana , † May 7, 1928 there ) was an American dentist and pioneer of dentistry .

Life

Kells was born the son of dentist Charles E. Kells (also Charles Edmund Kells Sr.). His mother died when he was four years old. The son performed various auxiliary jobs in his father's practice at an early age. In 1876 he enrolled at New York Dental College and graduated two years later. At the time, studying dentistry was so short. Because of his interest in technical progress, he spent his free time at Thomas Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory in New Jersey. In 1878 he returned to New Orleans and opened his dental practice there. When the city began to electrify street lights, he tapped the line and set up his first practice powered by electricity. Kells committed to a long history of suffering by radiation-induced cancer suicide . He was amputated one finger at a time, later the whole hand, followed by the forearm and then the whole arm, until he finally learned that the cancer had also metastasized to his heart and lungs . Like many others, he went down in history as a “martyr for science”.

Inventions and developments

Over the course of 35 years he developed around 30 products, some of which he had patented. Above all, there is the use of X-rays for dental diagnostics.

roentgen

Kells pioneered the use of X-rays in dentistry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Shortly after the discovery of X-rays, he ordered the necessary parts and built an X-ray machine himself, which he used to demonstrate X-ray diagnostics to dentists in Asheville in July 1896 . In 1919, he gave a widely acclaimed lecture at a dental conference in New Orleans. He criticizes the hearth theory, which often leads to unnecessary extractions of teeth. He made it clear that X-rays should be used in dentistry to improve therapy, rather than just extracting non-vital teeth. Kells founded the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements in 1925 . In the year Kells died, the first radiation protection regulations were enacted by the International Congress of Radiology (ICR).

Extraction systems

Kells invented a surgical suction system that can be used to suck up blood and saliva during dental treatments. This improves the view of the treatment area and facilitates surgical treatments. This invention quickly spread around the world.

Air blower

He also invented the air blower to blow dry teeth to be treated.

First dental assistant

Kells is credited with the first use of a dental assistant . Since 1885 his wife has been doing various auxiliary jobs, such as mixing materials, cleaning and keeping files. A few years later he trained Malvina Cueria (1893–1991) to be the first “lady assistant”, who for the first time carried out assistance activities on patients. The presence of a "Lady in attendance" enabled also a woman, a dental practice without a chaperone ( ger .: chaperones to visit), what else has been considered improper. Kells put both a "chairside assistant" ( chairside a ger .:, chairside ') for the treatment assistance, as well as an administrative assistant. Word of the benefits soon spread, and other dentists followed Kell's example and trained dental assistants themselves.

Fonts

• Kells, Charles E. "Practical development of dental films." Dental Items of Interest 44 (1922): 927-937.
• Kells, Charles E. "Radiograph as a diagnostic aid." The Dental Cosmos 63 (1921): 816.
• Kells, Charles E. "Roentgen rays in daily practice." Items of Interest 20 (1898): 892-893.
• Kells, Charles E. "Roentgen rays in practice." Items of Interest 20 (1898): 729-731.
• Kells, Charles E. "Roentgen rays." The Dental Cosmos 41 (1899): 1014-1029.
• Kells, Charles E. "The x-ray in dental practice: The crime of the age." The Journal of the National Dental Association 7 (1920): 241-272.
• Kells, Charles E. "Thirty years' experience in the field of dental radiography." The Journal of the American Dental Association 13 (1926): 693-711.
• Kells, Charles E. Three Score Years and Nine. New Orleans: C. Edmund Kells. DDS, 1926.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Daniel Demers, Profile of Dr. Charles Edmund Kells , DrBicuspid.com. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
2. ↑ Ida D. Jeffries, Dentist, Inventor, Scientist ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) Retrieved August 12, 2015. 
3. ^ PH Jacobsohn, ML Kantor, BL Pihlstrom: The X-ray in dentistry, and the legacy of C. Edmund Kells: a commentary on Kells CE. The X-ray in dental practice . J Natl Dent Assoc 1920; 7 (3): 241-272. In: Journal of the American Dental Association (1939). Volume 144 Spec No, October 2013, ISSN  1943-4723 , pp. 15S-19S, PMID 24141813 .
4. ↑ C. Edmund Kells, DDS, The X-ray in dental practice: The crime of the age , Journal of the American Dental Association Centennial, February 2013. Originally published: March 1920 in the Journal of the National Dental Association (forerunner to JADA ). Part 1. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
5. ↑ C. Edmund Kells, DDS, The X-ray in dental practice: The crime of the age , Journal of the American Dental Association Centennial, February 2013. Originally published: March 1920 in the Journal of the National Dental Association (forerunner to JADA ). Part 2. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
6. ↑ CM Kracher: C. Edmund Kells (1856-1928). In: Journal of the history of dentistry. Volume 48, Number 2, July 2000, pp. 65-69, PMID 11794365 .
7. ^ Tija Hunter, The History of Dental Assistants and The American Dental Assistants Association . The American Dental Assistants Association. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
8. ↑ Britta Martinez, Early X-Ray Technology in Dentistry, 1890-1955 , Master's Thesis, Arizona State University, May 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2016.