Development of dentistry in Osijek

U ovome radu prikazana je povijest razvitka dentalne medicine u Osijeku od najstarijih vremena do današnjih dana. Taj je tijek u velikoj mjerio bio uvjetovan povijesnim okolnostima. Slavonija i grad Osijek kroz povijest su pripadali raznim carstvima i državama, a to je utjecalo na razvitak svih grana ljudske djelatnosti, pa tako i medicine općenito, kao i dentalne medicine. Dodatna „otegotna okolnost“ bila je to što je u tim carstvima i državnim tvorevinama Slavonija gotovo uvijek bila na granici, ponekad zapadnoj, a najčešće istočnoj te kao takva je bila poprište mnogih bitaka i u njoj je neprekidno bila prisutna vojska. Sve to je negativno utjecalo na razvitak medicine, pa tako i dentalne medicine. U svim povijesnim razdobljima do kraja srednjega vijeka dentalna se medicina nije izdvojila iz opće medicine i dentalnu praksu su vršili liječnici u okviru svoje svakodnevne medicinske prakse. Tek se u 18. stoljeću u Slavoniji javljaju osobe koje su se bavile dentalnim zahvatima. Tada su to bili kirurzi-brijači, priučeni obrtnici koji su se bavili tzv. malom kirurgijom. Državna vlast pokušava uvesti red u njihovo poslovanje, propisuje im medicinsko školovanje ili polaganje određenih stručnih ispita. U drugoj polovini 19. stoljeća u Hrvatskoj i Slavoniji provode se velike reforme na području javnoga zdravstva, što rezultira znatnim brojem školovanih i stručnih liječnika koji obavljaju dentalnu praksu. U Osijeku, kao rezultat tih procesa, djeluje više uglednih zubara koji obavljaju svakodnevnu praksu. Drugi svjetski rat u velikoj je mjeri unazadio stanje dentalne zaštite u Slavoniji i Osijeku uzrokujući velik nedostatak školovanog dentalnog osoblja. Poslije Drugoga svjetskog rata osniva se nekoliko medicinskih obrazovnih institucija koje rješavaju taj problem, a u Osijeku djeluju i pojedinci koji su imali velike zasluge za razvitak dentalne medicine. To su, prije svega, Viša stomatološka škola Osijek, Poliklinika za zaštitu zubi i usta Osijek, dr. Stjepan Smerdelj, Medicinski fakultet Osijek i napose Fakultet za dentalnu medicinu i zdravstvo Osijek.In this paper, I tried to present the history of the development of dental medicine in Osijek from ancient times to the present day. Its progress was largely conditioned by historical circumstances. Throughout history, Slavonia and the city of Osijek belonged to various empires and states, and this of course affected the development of all branches of human activity, including medicine in general and dental medicine. An additional "aggravating circumstance" was that in these empires and states Slavonia was almost always on the border, sometimes western, but mostly eastern, and as such was the scene of many battles with army constantly present. All this negatively affected the development of medicine, including dental medicine. In all historical periods until the end of the Middle Ages, dental medicine was part of general medicine and dental practice was executed by physicians as part of their daily medical practice. It was not until the 18th century that people who performed dental procedures appeared in Slavonia. In those days, they were surgeons - barbers, trained craftsmen who performed the so-called minor surgery. The state government was trying to regulate their business by laying down the standard for medical education or for taking certain professional exams. In the second half of the 19th century, major reforms in the field of public health were carried out in Croatia and Slavonia, and this resulted in a significant number of educated and professional doctors practicing dental procedures. As a result of these processes, there were several reputable dentists who performed daily procedures in Osijek. The Second World War greatly regressed the state of dental care in Slavonia and Osijek, causing a great lack of trained dental staff. After the Second World War, several medical educational institutions were established to solve this problem; but Osijek has also witnessed individuals who had great merits for the development of dental medicine. These are, first of all, the Higher School of Dentistry Osijek, the Polyclinic for Dental and Oral Protection Osijek, Dr. Stjepan Smerdelj, the Faculty of Medicine Osijek and especially the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health in Osijek. I hope that in this paper I have managed to illustrate how they were founded and their first activities, but also the work of many dental practitioners through the centuries