Teeth white and fair.

Abstract

Most dentists practicing today, in fact most dentists living today, accept porcelain, in one form or another, as a fundamental determinant of dental armamentarium. It must be remembered, however, that porcelain, in spite of some admonishments by the Chicken Littles, has not and is not about to fall like the sky. A great amount of purpose, intellect, and dedication proffered by porcelain's protagonists was the springboard that eventually led to near total acceptance of that product by dentists and the public they treated. Porcelain's introduction, however, was not accompanied by a professional unity that orchestrated its arrival with a blare of bugles and a ruffle of drums. Rather, the early proponents and opponents churned and swiped at each other for some decades. Teeth White and Fair recounts the origin, struggle, and growth of an early porcelain manufacturing company; the diversity of the men involved in the production of porcelain; the profession's dichotomy regarding the acceptance of porcelain; and the details of manufacture of that then embryonic dental product. Finally, the reader is given a peek at evolving cosmetic oriented materials that desire to garner ascension as valued players on the stages of cosmetic dental restorative materials.