The first American book on X-rays (discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen of Wurzburg, Germany) appeared in 1896 and by July of that year the intraoral fluoroscope was invented by William H. Rollins. Also in July of 1896, Dr. Charles Edmund Kells, Jr. (1856-1928) taught the first clinic on the use of X-rays in dentistry. He would go on to be fascinated by the science of X-rays and also electricity. His passion for X-rays would cost him dearly. Kells became one of the most noted of a handful of “X-ray Martyrs”.

Meet the most noted of “X-ray Martyrs”

Dr. Kells, born in New Orleans, was the son of a successful dentist. In 1876 he enrolled as a student at the New York Dental College. There he met and became friendly with technicians from Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory. He started to spend time in the lab and was fascinated by Edison’s efforts in early incandescent lighting and his experiments in electricity. He could already see the applications for dentistry. It was a whole new untested frontier and he wanted to be at the forefront of it. When the Edison Electric Light Company began to supply power to major industries in New Orleans, Dr. Kells signed up for service, becoming the city’s first dentist to use street current to power his dental equipment. Kells wired his office himself and connected it to the power grid outside his office.

High hopes for the uses of electricity

Dr. Kells had high hopes for the uses of electricity, both in the dental office and elsewhere. Like Edison, his mind began to whirl with all sorts of new inventions, not the least of which was for an automatic electric suction pump which drained saliva, a wonderful invention that did away with using surgical sponges in both dentistry and general surgery. He also registered patents for other items powered by electricity, including an electric thermostat, a fire extinguisher, and a drinking fountain.

Between early electricity and early X-rays, the dental office was a minefield of dangers, some of which were recognized and others which had yet to appear.

While Dr. Kells’s ordeal with X-rays took time to be realized, he understood the dangers of electricity almost as soon as he hooked up his office. He was so worried about it, he sent a letter to the editor of the “Dental Cosmos”, the leading professional dental publication at the time, asking him about the risks in using electricity in the dental operatory. Even as he did so, at the same time he sent a letter to S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Company, asking if they could make electric dental instruments for him.

The editor, Dr. Grier, responded:

“The use of commercial lighting current, as shown by the apparatus exhibited by you, their employment to give the light and heat needed and to actuate the motors employed in the dental office, opens up a fascinating and almost unlimited field of application.… Unfortunately, these currents, especially the light arc, possess an electromotive force and strength far beyond the needs of the case, and therein lies the risk of their employment.… THE POSSIBLE TRANSFERENCE OF THE CURRENT FROM THE APPARATUS TO THE PERSON OF THE OPERATOR OR THE PATIENT.…”

There had been a scare over electricity in New York City several years earlier and people were still not over it. Eventually though, people came to accept electricity in the dental office. Harder to overcome, was the deadly repercussions of all the X-ray experiments Dr. Kells had done, using his own hands.

Now, of course, we understand what happens to repeated exposure of body parts to X-ray, cancer.

In 1913 Kells installed the first commercial X-ray unit made especially for use in dentistry. Dr. Kells, in developing his groundbreaking use of X-rays in dentistry, had developed malignant growths on his left hand. It was the beginning of years of agony. He later noted the dangers of radiation had been recognized even before then, and no knowledgeable doctor would hold a film in the mouth of his patient or in any way expose his hands to the direct rays. Eventually, he had to have the tips of his fingers of his left hand cut off. After more years of exposure, he had to have several fingers removed. That still did not stop the cancerous growths and eventually he had to have his left arm amputated.

Early X-ray machines could be dangerous for more than their radiation. As Dr. Grier had indicated in his response to Kells in “Dental Cosmos”, the electricity that powered these contraptions could also be hazardous. The exposed high-tension wires of these devices caused several serious accidents and a few fatalities by themselves.

Still, today we are indebted to Dr. Kells and other “X-ray Martyrs” like him, who helped make modern dentistry what it is today, despite the early dangers.

About the blogger

Guest blogger Jenn Ochman, Database Publishing Production Specialist in the Branding and Communication Department at Benco Dental, dedicates her time outside work to historical reenactment. She shares knowledge of dental history with TheDailyFloss.com readers on a monthly basis.