title: Not just two million teeth: Giovanni Battista Orsenigo, monk dentist.
abstract: Brother Giovanni Battista Orsenigo, a monk of the "Ospitalieri di San Giovanni di Dio--Fatebenefratelli" holy order, was the most famous dental surgeon in Rome from 1870 to the start of the 20th century, but it was his nomination in 1972 by the Guinness Book of Records as the "most dedicated dentist", having kept more than 2 million extracted teeth, that brought him international reknown. Orsenigo was not merely a tooth-drawer, but a truly great dentist, and one who honored the code of his monastic order. It is important that this distinguished colleague, who is not mentioned in international dental literature, be restored to dental history and that his memory be preserved.
authors.affiliation: University of Perugia, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, Italy. stefano.eramo@alice.it
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eramo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fioratti
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Genovese
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gallottini
mesh_terms: D003815:Dentists / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012384:Rome; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000266:history