The prehistoric groups in Slavonia lived of agriculture, knew of pottery, and some knew of metallurgy or even of the calendar, so they must have known of the rudimentary medical methods.
However, it is almost certain that the application of medicinal plants and healing procedures was customary. Nonetheless, they represent the beginnings of organized life in our region and should therefore be acknowledged.ĭue to the insignificant examination of osteological remains at numerous Slavonian prehistoric sites, the analysis of medical care during those times is based on assumptions. Osteological remains show that these cultures executed some surgical procedures, even more complex ones such as trepanning of the skull, therefore it is almost certain that they performed dental procedures in everyday life too ( 3).ĭuring prehistory, there were several groups (cultures) in the area of Slavonia that were at a far less developed level that the before mentioned. The former had an organized life, administration, legislation, literature, architecture, and of course medicine, meaning every aspect of daily life was at an incomparably higher level than the life in prehistoric settlements in Europe. There is clear distinction between developed prehistoric cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Central and South America, and prehistoric groups in Europe. Everyday medical practices included the application of medicinal plants and preparations along with rudimentary procedures of opening abscesses, immobilization, tooth extractions, etc. In ancient times, medical practices were tightly connected to religion and were mostly performed by notable individuals called shamans. Such a research has only been conducted in more recent times, so data on dental procedures in prehistoric cultures in Slavonia are scarce. We collect data on such procedures in prehistoric times from osteological remains at numerous archaeological sites. That included care and treatment of this individual by the rest of the community. The bones of Neanderthals indicated severe injuries including bone fractures, blindness, amputation, tooth loss, osteoarthritis, etc., and proved that they lived for a long time after those bones had healed. Therefore, even in ancient times, there was a need for certain procedures to be carried out on teeth and in the oral cavity ( 1, 2). Diseases of the teeth, jaw and oral cavity have existed since human beginnings and have been recorded since the earliest times on osteological remains and in early written sources. Thanks to the reforms of the Austrian, and later the Austrian-Hungarian authorities, the practice and work of people who were allowed to perform dental procedures started being regulated, prices were established, and punishments introduced for those who performed dental procedures without having the proper qualifications.ĭental health is largely connected to the general condition of humans and can definitely affect their everyday activities and quality of life profoundly. The authors illustrate the work of various ‘dentists’ who worked in Osijek, from military and town surgeons, barbers, and especially the work of doctors that needed to have formal school and specialist education after the reforms implemented in the 19 th century. Those were the true beginnings of medicine and dental protection.
In this paper, the authors depict dental health care of the inhabitants of Osijek and Slavonia throughout their history, since the ancient prehistoric times when dental medicine and medicine in general were ‘in the hands’ of gods and medicine men, throughout the period of the Roman Empire and Middle Ages, as well as the Turkish sovereignty, all the way to the modern era when Osijek and Slavonia became part of the Austrian Empire and many novelties were introduced in the society, among other things, and for those times, modern procedures of medicine and dental protection. Throughout history, Osijek and Slavonia were parts of numerous empires and states.
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