A graduate of the New York University College of Dentistry, Avi Malkis currently serves as a dentist with one of New York’s premier joined dental practices, Oakwood Dental Arts, located in Staten Island. Doctor Avi Malkis joined the practice in 2016 and provides patients with routine dental care in addition to cosmetic dentistry.
Historically, cosmetic dentistry has been practiced for more than a thousand years, with the first pair of dentures dating back to 700 B.C. This earliest known example of dentures was constructed by the ancient Etruscans using animal teeth. Through the centuries a variety of objects were used as false teeth, including seashells and animal bones. By the rise of the Roman Empire, toothpaste (typically containing ammonia or other abrasive substances) was being widely used by people attempting to remove stains on their teeth.
Throughout the 1600s, barbers typically filled the role of the dentist, but within the next 100 years, dentistry would establish itself as a profession. These early dental practitioners performed cosmetic procedures such as using porcelain to fashion dentures, to lay the groundwork for today’s cosmetic techniques.
The term cosmetic dentistry was coined in the 1980s, as celebrities flashing enviable, cosmetically enhanced smiles started appearing in magazines and on television. People have been flocking to dentists ever since, and the procedures once considered rare and expensive, teeth whitening and straightening, for example, have become widely accessible. If you would like a consultation to explore your options, please contact Avi Malkis.