Imagine sitting in a wooden chair in a noisy marketplace. There are no sterile lights, no numbing gels, and certainly no comfortable waiting room. The “dentist” (likely a barber) approaches you not with a sleek, high-tech scanner, but with a rusted iron tool that looks suspiciously like a medieval torture device.
This was the reality for dental patients for hundreds of years.
Today at 1st Dental Clinic in Bukit Jelutong, we obsess over comfort, preservation, and gentleness. But history wasn’t always so kind. Before the invention of braces to straighten teeth or root canals to save them, there was often only one solution for a problematic tooth: extraction.
And the tool of choice? The infamous Dental Pelican.
Let’s take a walk through history to see exactly how good we have it today (and why you never have to fear the dentist again).
What Was the Dental Pelican?
Used from the 14th century all the way through the late 1700s, the Dental Pelican was named because its claw resembled the beak of a pelican.
It wasn’t designed for precision; it was designed for leverage.
The device consisted of a main shaft and a curved, serrated claw. The operator would place the bolster (the flat part of the shaft) against the gum or the jawbone to create a pivot point. Then, the claw was hooked over the tooth.
By cranking the handle, the operator would essentially lever the tooth sideways until it popped out of the socket.
How It Worked (The painful truth)
Think of a claw hammer pulling a nail out of a piece of wood. The hammer head pushes against the wood (your gum) to pry the nail (your tooth) loose.
Because there were no X-rays to see curved roots, and the tool applied massive varying horizontal force, the results were often messy:
- Broken roots left inside the gum.
- Severe damage to the surrounding gum tissue.
- Jaw fractures from the immense pressure applied to the bone.
- Accidental removal of healthy neighboring teeth.
The Era Before Anesthesia: “Bite on This”
For our Anxious Patients reading this, take a deep breath. This is the part where we remind you that modern local anesthesia is a miracle.
During the era of the Pelican, effective pain relief didn’t exist. Ether and chloroform (the first general anesthetics) weren’t introduced to dentistry until the mid-1800s.
Patients had few options:
- Getting drunk on alcohol (which actually thins the blood, making bleeding worse).
- Taking opium (if they could afford it).
- Simply being held down by assistants.
The speed of the Pelican was its only “mercy.” The barber-surgeon had to work fast, often resulting in the complications mentions above.
It creates a stark contrast to a visit to 1st Dental Clinic today, where we use numbing gels before you even feel a pinch, and we take as much time as necessary to ensure you are completely comfortable.
Why Extract? The Lack of Orthodontics
Why were they so eager to pull teeth back then?
For the Proactive Parent wondering about your child’s crowded teeth, or the Ambitious Professional looking at a crooked smile, realize that in the past, straightening teeth wasn’t an option.
If a mouth was overcrowded, causing pain or infection, the offending teeth were simply removed. There were no braces to guide teeth into proper alignment and no clear aligners (like Invisalign) to discreetly correct a smile.
Malocclusion (which is the clinical term for misaligned teeth or a ‘bad bite’) was treated by subtraction. Today, we treat it by correction.
We can now expand the arch of a child’s mouth to make room for adult teeth, or gently rotate a professional’s twisted tooth into the perfect position without ever picking up a pair of extraction forceps.
From “Yanking” to Saving: The Shift in Value
For the Health-Conscious Senior, the goal of dentistry has shifted entirely. In the era of the Pelican, “success” meant getting the tooth out. Today, “success” means keeping your natural teeth for life.
The Evolution of Tools
Thankfully, the Pelican was eventually replaced by the Dental Key (still scary, but slightly better), and eventually by modern forceps and elevators designed to lift a tooth out vertically rather than leveraging it sideways against the jaw.
But the biggest evolution isn’t the tool—it’s the philosophy.
- Prevention: We use fluoride and sealants to stop decay before it starts.
- Restoration: We use fillings, crowns, and root canals to fix damage rather than removing the tooth.
- Replacement: If a tooth is missing, we don’t leave a gap. We use Dental Implants—technological marvels that function like real roots—or bridges to restore function.
Modern Dentistry: High-Tech and Anxiety-Free
If reading about the Pelican made you wince, let’s wash that image away with the reality of what happens at a modern clinic like ours in Bukit Jelutong.
Here is what the Ambitious Professional and Anxious Patient can expect today:
- Digital Imaging: We don’t guess. We use high-definition X-rays and 3D scanners to see exactly what is happening below the gum line.
- Invisalign & Braces: Instead of pulling crowded teeth, we use modern orthodontic treatments to gently guide them into a beautiful, harmonious position.
- Sedation & Pain Management: We prioritize a pain-free experience. If you are anxious, we listen, we explain, and we numb.
- Sterilization: Unlike the barber-surgeons who wiped tools on their aprons, we adhere to hospital-grade sterilization protocols.
Conclusion
The Dental Pelican is a fascinating, albeit terrifying, relic of the past. It serves as a reminder of how far medical science has come.
We no longer have to choose between pain and health. Whether you are a parent planning for your child’s future smile, a professional upgrading your image, or a senior maintaining your health, you are living in the golden age of dentistry.
At 1st Dental Clinic, we treat your teeth like the precious assets they are. We don’t use leverage and brute force; we use technology, empathy, and skill to keep your smile healthy for a lifetime.
Don’t let fear keep you in the dark ages.
If you need a check-up, a consultation for braces, or just a friendly chat about your dental health, we are here to help.