Gutta-percha was introduced for this and various dental purposes in England, in 1851, by Trueman. In 1851, too, came Goodyear's process of vulcanizing, which the dental profession were at first slow to avail themselves of, but which led, as its value was recognized later, to expensive and almost endless litigation. Another most valuable American invention was that of taking impressions by the use of plaster. This was introduced about 1844-'45. This method permitted the making of socket-plates, which, of itself, was a long step in advance. So much for a very brief epitome of some of the most interesting facts in the history of dentistry. Did time permit, the matter would warrant treatment at much greater length. But what now is to be said of the condition of dentistry to-day? First of all, that it is no longer relegated to charlatans and itinerants, but is studied, practiced, and honored by men of the ablest minds and of the highest type. There is to-day scarcely any branch of applied science which calls for greater qualifications or for greater combination{336} of mental endowment and manual dexterity than does dentistry. We, in New York, find ourselves now in position where the State has assumed not only to regulate the practice of dentistry, but even to pass upon the qualifications of those who propose to study it. In the assumption of this task by the State there is paid, perhaps, the greatest possible compliment to its dignity and to its importance. The great field of medicine is now altogether too vast, and the various branches which pertain to it are too complex, to permit a mastery of all its details by any one mind. The man does not live who to-day can be considered _facile princeps_ in more than a few departments of medicine. Life is too short to permit of it, and the study is altogether too extensive. There is also a growing public demand for specialization of work, and there is probably more excuse for the perpetuation of dentistry as a specialty than for almost any other branch. Nevertheless, it is necessary constantly to repress a tendency toward a failure to comprehend the general principles underlying all medical specialties, and it has been hard, at least until recently, to impress upon the men of the dental profession that they were really only practicing a branch of medicine, and that, in disregarding a general and comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental branches, they were but poorly preparing themselves for the practice of a dignified specialty. Certainly dentistry makes as many demands for mechanical training, digital dexterity, familiarity with the properties of materials, etc., as does. surgery, and in some respects even more. Of course, to a certain extent in these respects it is like a mechanical trade. The great trouble with the dental profession, until very recent times, is that they have regarded their work too much as a trade and not enough as a profession.