Who is credited as being the father of modern dentistry?

Pierre Fauchard (born in 1678 – died on March 22, 1761) was a French physician, credited as being the "father of modern dentistry". Fauchard was born to a family of modest means in Northern France. At age 15, he entered the French Royal Navy. There he learned first-hand about mouth disease, in particular problems brought about by scurvy. After three years Fauchard left the Navy and set up a dental practice at the University of Angers Hospital, two-hundred miles southwest of Paris. There he practiced his trade, cultivating new techniques and refining others.

He worked diligently and with conviction, and he slowly developed an outstanding reputation. He is widely known for writing the first complete scientific description of dentistry, Le Chirurgien Dentiste ("The Surgeon Dentist") which was published in 1728. The book described basic oral anatomy and functions, signs and symptoms of oral pathology, operative methods for removing decay and restoring teeth, periodontal disease (pyorrhea), orthodontics, replacement of missing teeth, and tooth transplantation.