Philipp Pfaff

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Philipp Pfaff, founder of dentistry in Germany. From: Treatise on the teeth of the human body and their diseases, Berlin 1756
Book title: Philipp Pfaff: Treatise on the teeth of the human body and their diseases, Berlin 1756
Bust in the Charité , Institute for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine

Philipp Pfaff (* before February 27, 1713 in Berlin ; † March 4, 1766 there ) was a German doctor and dentist, Royal Prussian court dentist of Frederick the Great and a revolutionary thought leader in dentistry . He was considered a master of conservative dentistry and tooth extraction.

Life

Philipp Pfaff was the second son of the surgeon Johann Leonhard Pfaff . An exact date of birth is not known; the baptismal register entry of February 27, 1713 is still available today in the cathedral parish of Berlin. He studied general medicine, surgery and dentistry at the Charité in Berlin , where his father also worked.

The “Prussian Medicinal Edict” by the “Soldier King” Friedrich Wilhelm I (1713–1740) mentions in its renewed form from 1713, according to which all “medical personnel” had to undergo the final examination before the “Colloqium Medicum”, including the term “ Dentists". Pfaff had also passed this test. This also made him the first "state-appointed" dentist in Germany. The Prussian medical laws were far ahead of their time at home and abroad. After his training, Pfaff was obliged to do military service. He served him in the infantry regiments No. 25 of Colonel Christoph Wilhelm von Kalckstein and No. 34 of Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia . After King Friedrich II took over government in 1740, Pfaff immediately had to take part in the First Silesian War as a company surgeon. He took part with these regiments in the battles near Mollwitz (1741), Breslau and Chotusitz as well as the storming of Glogau and the battle near Lassoth (1741). During the heavy fighting with many casualties, Pfaff inevitably gained a great deal of experience in the treatment of war injuries .

After his discharge from military service, he opened a barber shop in Berlin with royal approval and enjoyed a great reputation. Why he later turned to dentistry, which was completely underdeveloped and disreputable at the time, can no longer be explained.

Philipp Pfaff was married to Dorothea Sophia, but died childless in 1766 of the "breast disease", which can be interpreted as work-related pulmonary tuberculosis .

research

Pfaff researched new possibilities for the prosthesis and the filling. In 1756 he published the first textbook on dentistry in German: Treatise on the teeth of the human body and their diseases . The most important scientific reference point at this time was the textbook by the French Pierre Fauchard (1678–1761). In 1728 he wrote the world's first comprehensive monograph on dentistry, which was also translated into German in 1733. Pfaff drew a large part of his knowledge from this textbook and also contributed his own experience.

A few examples of his epochal ideas and experiences should be remembered:

Pfaff personally presented the book to his King Frederick the Great on May 19, 1756, who honored him with the titles “ Court Dentist ” and “ Court Counselor ”, which were first awarded in Prussia . As early as May 20, 1756, a positive, laudatory review appeared in the “Berlinische Nachrichten”. It is not known whether the king was ever treated by Pfaff.

Honors

The German Society for Stomatology donated the Philipp Pfaff Medal in 1968 to promote scientific work , which was renamed the Wolfgang Rosenthal Prize in 1973 without changing the medal.

In Berlin there is the " Philipp Pfaff Institute ", a joint advanced training facility of the Berlin Dental Association and the Brandenburg State Dental Association .

In 1980 the "German Dental Philipp Pfaff Society" was founded by Rolf Will in Berlin, which he led until 1990 as President.

The Dental Museum in Zschadraß , Saxony, has rebuilt Philipp Pfaff's treatment room true to the original and opened it to the public in 2016 - on the 250th anniversary of his death.

literature

  • Philipp Pfaff: Treatise on the teeth of the human body and their diseases. Haude and Spener, Berlin 1756; Reprint, with a comment by Rolf Will, Heidelberg 1982; Reprint of the 1756: 1999 edition ( ISBN 3-7759-0293-7 ).
  • Rolf Will: Philipp Pfaff (1713–1766). Founder of German dentistry. With a detailed biography, pictures and facsimile reprint of Pfaff's textbook from 1756, Beier & Beran, Langenweißbach 2002, ISBN 3-930036-64-9 .
  • Werner E. Gerabek : Pfaff, Philipp. In: Werner E. Gerabek, Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , p. 1133.

Web links

Commons : Philipp Pfaff  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rolf Will, An Almost Forgotten Genius , Zahnärztliche Mitteilungen, March 1, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ Ullrich Rainer Otte: Jakob Calmann Linderer (1771-1840). A pioneer in scientific dentistry. Medical dissertation, Würzburg 2002, p. 20 (cited).
  3. ↑ a b Dominik Groß, Who was Philipp Pfaff? ( Memento of the original from August 18, 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. , Zahnärztliche Mitteilungen, March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zm-online.de
  4. ↑ Deutsche Stomatologie 1968; 18: 554-555 and statute of the society of November 20, 1976.
  5. ↑ Pfaff's treatment room is being reconstructed , Zahnärztliche Mitteilungen, November 12, 2015. Accessed November 13, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Pfaff, Philipp
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Court dentist of Frederick the Great and pioneer of dentistry
DATE OF BIRTH baptized February 27, 1713
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH March 4, 1766
Place of death Berlin