【C】The earliest recorded reference to oral disease is from an ancient (5000 BC) Sumerian text thatdescribes “tooth worms” as a cause of dental decay, and there is historical evidence that the Chineseused acupuncture around 2700 BC to treat pain associated with tooth decay. And in ancient Egypt,written between 1700 and 1500 BC, there were references to substances to ease pain and treat decayin teeth. Aesculapius, a Greek physician, who lived between 1300 and 1200 BC is credited by manywith the concept of extracting diseased teeth. Throughout the Middle Age in Europe, dentistry wasmade available to the wealthy by physicians who would go to their homes. Dentistry for the poorerpeople took place in the market places, where self-taught vagabonds would extract teeth for a smallfee. From the Middle Ages to the early 1700s, much dental work was provided by so called “barbersurgeons.” Pierre Fauchard (1678-1761), a French surgeon, is credited with being the “father ofmodern dentistry.”
         Dental practitioners migrated to the American colonies in the 1700s and devoted themselvesprimarily to the removal of diseased teeth and insertion of artificial dentures. Until the mid-1800s,dentures continued to be individually constructed by skilled artisans. Gold, silver, and ivory werecommon components, causing them to be very expensive and available only to the very wealthy. In1851 a process to mould material against a model of the patient’s mouth and attach artificial porcelainteeth allowed the manufacture of less expensive dentures. Later, acrylic plastics replaced the use ofrubber and porcelain in denture construction.
          A major contribution came from Horace Wells in 1844 when he initiated the use of nitrous oxide(laughing gas), founding the concept of inhalation analgesia and anesthesia. The medical communitylater adopted inhalation anesthesia as a standard surgical practice. Greene Vardiman Black(1831-1915) was the leading reformer of American dentistry. He devised a foot engine that allowedthe dentist to keep both hands free while powering the dental drill. He also developed moderntechniques for filling teeth based upon biological principles and microscopic evaluation, and proposedthat dental caries and periodical disease were infections initiated by bacteria—not confirmedscientifically, however, until the early 1960s.
【題組】41. The word “decay” in line 2 is closest in meaning to _____.
(A) proper treatment
(B) worsened condition
(C) the deceased
(D) bad denture