Hesy-Ra ...the first dentist

Abstract

In about 2650 BC, a particular title was bestowed on a high Egyptian official... it reads: Wer-ibeh-senjw. Intriguingly, there are alternate translations of the award. Wer implies "Great one". Ibeh may be "dentition" but could also be "ivory". Senjw is a plural form meaning "arrows", or "cutters", or "physicians". So Wer-ibeh-senjw could translate to "Great one of the ivory cutters" or to "Great one of the dentists".

The official is known as Hesy-Ra and his tomb was discovered by Auguste Mariette, a French archaeologist, in 1861, and excavated later by Egyptologist James Quibell. The tomb contained the clues as to which profession the official followed. The walls, 42 metres long, were covered with paintings and objects of daily life... and most relevant were six wooden panels some of which depicted Hesy-Ra in his practice of medicine and dentistry.