a short review on albucasis achievements in dentistry based on his book: al-tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif

abu al-qasim khalaf ibn al-abbas al-zahrawi, also known as albucasis, is one of the greatest physicians and surgeons in islamic world who is best remembered for his medical encyclopedia, al-tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif (an aid for those who lack the capacity to read big books). al-tasrif li man ajaz an-il-talif(an aid for those who lack the capacity to read big books). al-tasrifwas translated into latin by gerard of cremona in 1497 and was considered as a reference book in european universities until the seventeenth century. the original arabic text of the thirtieth treatise along with the english translation has been published by the university of california in 1973 under the title of “albucasis on surgery and instruments”.this treatise has also been published in iran. al-zahrawihas done a great work in medical sciences, particularly in dentistry, by introducing different surgical methods and instruments, but unfortunately most physicians are not familiar with his efforts and achievements. in this book, al-zahrawi presented dental diseases in five parts. in each chapter, he illustrated different tools and instruments and represented clinical experiences and treatment methods step by step. in this article, we have reviewed innovations, instruments, diseases and patterns of clinical experiences in the field of dentistry which has been introduced by al-zahrawi, and in addition to honoring the efforts of islamic scientists and the role of traditional islamic medicine, we have tried to bestow some of the inspirational experiences of our predecessors which may be used in modern medicine.