{"id":18427,"date":"2026-04-26T15:57:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/?p=18427"},"modified":"2026-04-26T15:57:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:57:35","slug":"how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-18427-how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling","title":{"rendered":"How Brooklyn Learned to Keep Smiling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dental problems among Brooklynites go way back\u2014almost as far back as Brooklyn itself. The pain was just as bad back then as it is now, except that the solution was much simpler: whoever happened to be around became the \u201cdoctor.\u201d Barbers, craftsmen, and sometimes just daredevils with a steady hand would take on the job without any formal qualifications and, to put it mildly, without any guarantee of success. Treatment often boiled down to a single universal method\u2014remove it and forget about it, if, of course, you were lucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yet, even under such conditions, Brooklyn\u2014which at the time was still a separate and entirely self-sufficient city\u2014managed to take a step forward. This is where the first dental office appeared, where teeth began to be treated not as a problem to be quickly extracted, but as a part of the body worth treating. It sounds mundane, but for its time, it was almost a revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How exactly this happened, who was there at the very beginning , and what Brooklyn\u2019s first \u201cprofessional\u201d dentistry practice looked like\u2014you can read more about it in detail at <a href=\"http:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\">i-brooklyn.com.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0c4d640a7ec\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a0c4d640a7ec\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-18427-how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling\/#The_History_of_Dentistry_in_the_United_States\" >The History of Dentistry in the United States<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-18427-how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling\/#The_Birth_of_a_Profession\" >The Birth of a Profession<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-18427-how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling\/#Professional_dental_offices_in_Brooklyn\" >Professional dental offices in Brooklyn<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-18427-how-brooklyn-learned-to-keep-smiling\/#An_evolutionary_leap_from_treatment_to_prevention\" >An evolutionary leap: from treatment to prevention<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_History_of_Dentistry_in_the_United_States\"><\/span>The History of Dentistry in the United States<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1620\" height=\"2048\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79.jpeg 1620w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79-237x300.jpeg 237w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79-768x971.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79-1215x1536.jpeg 1215w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-79-696x880.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, the history of dentistry in the United States did not begin with pristine white offices and sterile instruments, but with rather dubious experiments on living people\u2014and without their explicit consent to the \u201cexperimental\u201d nature of the procedures. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, toothaches were treated here according to the principle: if it hurts, it\u2019s superfluous. And what\u2019s superfluous, as we know, must be removed. Quickly, decisively, and without unnecessary sentimentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Formally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/science\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/birth-profession-dentistry-nineteenth-century\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dentistry<\/a> did not yet exist as a separate profession. Barbers, blacksmiths, and sometimes even pharmacists\u2014anyone who had the right tools and a certain degree of self-confidence\u2014would moonlight as dentists. Sterility was unheard of back then; people could only guess at pain relief, and the word \u201ctreatment\u201d more often meant extraction. In this<a href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/uk\/eternal-istoriya-bruklinskoyi-psyhiatrychnoyi-likarni-kingsboro\"> <\/a>system, the <a href=\"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/eternal-history-of-brooklyns-kingsboro-psychiatric-center\">patient<\/a> was more of a bystander than a client: the main thing was to survive the procedure and not lose more than planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this regard, Brooklyn wasn\u2019t particularly different. Like other American cities, it operated by the same rules: a toothache was a personal problem, and dealing with it came down to luck and strong nerves. At best, you might come across someone with experience; at worst, someone who decided to try their hand at a new \u201cspecialty\u201d just today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The turning point came in the mid-19th century, when the U.S. finally realized the obvious: teeth are not disposable. The first dental schools appeared, doctors received training, and instead of pliers as a universal tool, drills, fillings, and, most importantly, anesthesia came along. And suddenly it turned out that treatment could be not only quick, but also relatively humane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brooklyn embraced these changes with considerable enthusiasm. The city was growing, becoming wealthier, and, surprisingly, beginning to pay more attention to the quality of life of its residents\u2014including their dental health. It was here that the first attempts were made to organize dentistry as a true practice: not \u201cseeing patients in the kitchen,\u201d but a separate space where the dentist didn\u2019t just pull teeth, but tried to treat them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the earliest known practitioners mentioned in historical sources is T. Jefferson Jones, who had been practicing in Brooklyn since the late 1820s. His office is mentioned on Sands Street. It was not a clinic in the modern sense, but rather a combination of living and working spaces, where other \u201cmedical services\u201d could be provided alongside dental procedures. But what is important is this: it was already an attempt at a regular dental practice, rather than the occasional interventions of a \u201cjack-of-all-trades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that, in essence, was the moment when dentistry in Brooklyn took a step from a craft to a medical profession. It wasn&#8217;t without pain\u2014but this time it was more historical than dental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Birth_of_a_Profession\"><\/span>The Birth of a Profession<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1660\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80-300x243.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80-768x623.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80-1536x1245.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-80-696x564.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometime in the mid-19th century, something happened that seems obvious today but was nothing short of a minor revolution back then: dentistry in the U.S. finally decided to become a profession rather than a side job for a \u201cjack-of-all-trades.\u201d The first educational institutions, diplomas, and attempts to establish rules of the game appeared\u2014and suddenly, the person with the forceps had not only confidence but also the formal right to call themselves a doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was the moment when teeth began to be taken more seriously than nails in a wall. New instruments and filling materials were introduced, and most importantly, anesthesia became available. Ether and nitrous oxide did more for dentistry than any advertisement: for the first time, patients were given a chance not only to survive, but also to avoid remembering the process in detail for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brooklyn, which at the time was rapidly developing as a separate city, did not ignore these changes. Here, it was no longer makeshift \u201coffices\u201d that began to open, but more or less organized medical practices. Doctors rented separate premises, purchased equipment, and even tried to create an atmosphere in which the patient did not feel doomed before the consultation even began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an interesting fact: it\u2019s known that it was during that period that dental offices began furnishing their spaces with velvet chairs and paintings to distract patients from the instruments. Although, let\u2019s be honest, it wasn\u2019t until much later that they managed to completely eliminate that feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Moreover, it was during this period that women began to gradually enter the profession. And while to some segments of society this seemed like something exotic, for patients it often meant a more attentive and, shall we say, less radical approach to treatment. Dentistry was slowly learning not only to treat, but also not to frighten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, the second half of the 19th century cemented a simple yet important idea: teeth can and should be saved. And although the path to this realization was far from comfortable, it was then in Brooklyn\u2014as well as across the country\u2014that the foundations were laid for the dentistry we recognize today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Professional_dental_offices_in_Brooklyn\"><\/span>Professional dental offices in Brooklyn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1416\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81-300x207.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81-768x531.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81-1536x1062.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-81-696x481.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And then, at some point\u2014around the 1860s to 1880s\u2014dentistry in Brooklyn finally stopped pretending to be a home-based trade and moved into what could now be called real dental offices. These were functional spaces where the main thing was that the patient had a place to sit and the dentist had somewhere to plug in his instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first dental offices of this kind were as practical as possible: a chair, a cabinet with instruments, a lamp, and the pride and joy\u2014the drill. At first, it was foot-operated. Yes, literally a pedal, just like on an old sewing machine. The dentist pumps his foot, the patient holds onto the chair, and somewhere in the midst of this rhythmic \u201cback and forth,\u201d modern dentistry is born. It sounds like technical progress, but in practice\u2014it\u2019s a unique kind of endurance test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Next came steam-powered drills. They no longer depended on the dentist\u2019s foot, but instead relied on steam, pressure, and the overall performance of the equipment. It was only with the advent of electricity that dentistry achieved what could be called stability. Electric drills did not make the process any less frightening, but they did add a degree of predictability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"An_evolutionary_leap_from_treatment_to_prevention\"><\/span>An evolutionary leap: from treatment to prevention<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"778\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-82.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-82.jpeg 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-82-300x195.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-82-768x498.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.i-brooklyn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2026\/04\/image-82-696x451.jpeg 696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is where the most important change begins: dentistry finally stops being about \u201cremove and forget.\u201d In Brooklyn, as in other major cities, a different approach is gradually taking hold\u2014preserve, treat, and prevent. Brushing teeth is shifting from \u201cexotic advice\u201d to the norm. Doctors are starting to talk to patients about hygiene, prevention, and regular checkups\u2014in other words, about things that could save money, spare nerves, and reduce the number of dramatic stories in the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so, rather than just individual dental offices, a fully-fledged system began to take shape in Brooklyn. Technology became more sophisticated, materials improved, and patients were gradually introduced to a simple\u2014though at the time still unfamiliar\u2014idea: it\u2019s better to preserve your teeth than to have to replace them with dentures later on, but that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/historyofdentistryandmedicine.com\/place-and-means-of-practice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/historyofdentistryandmedicine.com\/place-and-means-of-practice\/<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/southbrooklyndentist.com\/who-we-are\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/southbrooklyndentist.com\/who-we-are\/<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/science\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/birth-profession-dentistry-nineteenth-century\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.encyclopedia.com\/science\/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps\/birth-profession-dentistry-nineteenth-century<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/dentistry\/Dentistry-in-18th-and-19th-century-America\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/dentistry\/Dentistry-in-18th-and-19th-century-America<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dental problems among Brooklynites go way back\u2014almost as far back as Brooklyn itself. The pain was just as bad back then as it is now, except that the solution was much simpler: whoever happened to be around became the \u201cdoctor.\u201d Barbers, craftsmen, and sometimes just daredevils with a steady hand would take on the job [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":332,"featured_media":18428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4817],"tags":[7348,7342,5892,7355,7347,7352,7353,7343,7346,7345,7350,7351,7341,7349,7344,7354],"motype":[4825],"moformat":[83],"moimportance":[32,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-18427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthy","8":"tag-19th-century-brooklyn","9":"tag-19th-century-dentistry","10":"tag-brooklyn","11":"tag-dental-history-of-brooklyn","12":"tag-dental-medicine","13":"tag-dental-offices","14":"tag-dental-prevention","15":"tag-dentistry-in-the-united-states","16":"tag-development-of-medicine","17":"tag-early-dentists","18":"tag-evolution-of-dentistry","19":"tag-history-of-dental-treatment","20":"tag-history-of-dentistry","21":"tag-history-of-new-york","22":"tag-us-medical-history","23":"tag-us-medical-professions","24":"motype-eternal","25":"moformat-longread-short","26":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","27":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/332"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18427"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18443,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18427\/revisions\/18443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18427"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=18427"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=18427"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-brooklyn.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=18427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}