Dentistry in the Philippines can be divided into five periods of dental practice. Using the timeline of Philippine history as a template, they are: the Pre-Spanish era (from the Prehistoric period to the Classical period), the Spanish era, the American era, the Japanese occupation era (during World War II) and the independent Philippine-Republics era.
Pre-Spanish era (before 900 to 1521)
Barber-dentists
The practice of extracting teeth has been practiced in the Philippines before the islands became a colony of Spain. Among the early Filipino to act as "dental practitioners" and "curers of toothaches" were barbers. Their crude and "queer methods" of pulling out teeth from patients involved the use of fingers and nail pliers.
Spanish era (1521 to 1898)
Tooth-pullers
During the Spanish regime in the Philippines, dentistry was not recognized as a profession. There were no royal decrees and laws from the Spanish government to govern and guide the practice of dentists. A professional regulating body was also non-existent to oversee the field of dental practice during that time period. At the time, dentists were known as sacamuelas (plural of sacamuela meaning "tooth-puller"). Any person of the time period who were skillful in pulling teeth could become a sacamuela.
First true dentists
The first dentist in Spanish Philippines to open a dental clinic to practice true dentistry was José "Capitan Cheng-cheng" Arevalo. Arevalo was the first Filipino dentist. Arevalo was assisted by his wife who was skilled in "gold craftsmanship". Arevalo's clinic was in Quiapo, Manila. Arevalo later became a partner of Monsiuer M. Fertri, a dentist from France, who opened another dental clinic in Quiapo, Manila in 1858, after residing in Hong Kong. Fertri needed Arevalo's expertise as a prosthetist.
The development of dentistry as a profession started when the University of Santo Tomas offered a special course with a basic curriculum to train cirujano ministrantes (plural of cirujano ministrante, literally meaning "one who administers surgery"). Their name was later changed to cirujano dentistas (plural of cirujano dentista meaning "dentist-surgeon" or "dental surgeon").
American era (1898 to 1946)
American-era Board of Dental Examiners
During the American administration of the Philippines, examinations and licensing of dentists were introduced in the islands. Major General Elwell Otis, the Military Governor of the Philippines at the time, instructed the US Provost Marshal General to assess the skills of the dentists who already practicing their craft in the islands. On August 2, 1899, the US Provost Marshal General established the Board of Dental Examiners. Examinations were held and licenses to practice were issued.
In 1903, Act No. 593 known as "The Act of Regulating the Practice of Dentistry in the Philippine Islands" was passed to regulate the practice of dentistry in the Philippines. Through this Act, the Board of Dental Examiners was reorganized on January 10, 1903. The members of the Board of Dental Examiners were appointed by the Commissioner of Public Health after obtaining approval from the Board of Health of the Philippine Islands. The members were two Americans (Dr. Robert Oliver and Dr. Wallace G. Skidmore) and one Filipino (Dr. Antonio Vergel de Dios), with Oliver as the chairman while Skidmore as the secretary treasurer.
Schools of dentistry
Some Filipinos who practiced dentistry in the Philippines at the time were graduates of schools of dentistry in the United States. Among them were Dr. Gregorio R. Mateo, Dr. Francisco Ponce, Dr. Placido Flores and Dr. Joaquin A. Lada.