The History of the Specialty of Dental Anesthesiology

A nesthesiology has been the practice of dentistry since dentists Horace Wells (1844) and William T. G. Morton (1846) first discovered the miracle of anesthesia for painless surgery by administering nitrous oxide and diethyl ether, respectively.Fortunately for the good of mankind, Dr Morton administered it for a patient of the chief of surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, John Collins Warren, MD, who was a dean at the Harvard Medical School and a primary founder of the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery.Dr Warren was absolutely amazed that Dr Morton kept his patient quietly asleep during the operation instead of having to listen to the painful screaming that always accompanied all surgery at that time.It was reported that he famously said of Morton's demonstration, ''Gentlemen, this is no humbug.''Dr Warren made certain that this most important discovery was published and made available to all doctors around the world.Both the American Dental Association (ADA) (1864) and the American Medical Association (1870) gave credit to Dr Wells as the discoverer of anesthesia, 1 but Dr Morton's successful public demonstration was especially significant for changing dentistry and medicine forever because of Dr Warren's powerful endorsement and lofty position he held in the worldwide medical community.For the next 100 years, physicians and dentists together advanced the practice of anesthesiology.Physicians often taught the art and science of anesthesiology to dentists, and dentists, such as Jay Heidbrink, DDS, likewise taught it to many physicians.For instance,