Did a dental profession exist in Ancient Egypt?

1. THE EXISTENCE OF DENTISTS Dr. Leek, the author of these arguments states that the specialization of Hesy-Re, an Ancient Egyptian physician said to be a dentist by many Egyptologists, is doubted by some others. He contends that his title 'wr ibh swnw', translated Chief of Dental Physicians by Junker Jonckheere4 and Lefebvre" could be an obscure non-medical attribution. This purely philological discussion is better left to specialists,6 but it must be pointed out that Hesy-Re to whom Dr. Leek restricts his discussion is not the only Ancient Egyptian to have borne a title compounded with the word 'ibh', tooth. We know at least three others who, in addition to being 'swnw', physicians, were either 'ibhy' or 'ir ibh'. The word 'ibhy' is a nisbe, or adjective of relationship, formed from 'ibh', and means 'related to teeth, concerned with teeth';5 'ir ibh' means 'who deals with', or 'makes' teeth, on the same model as 'iry psn' bread-maker or baker, 'iry sny' wig-maker, hairdresser.5 The three physicians are: (a) Ni-ankh-Sekhmet,7 Chief Physician (wr swnw), Chief of the Palace Physicians (wr swnw pr-C3), and Chief of the Dentists of the Palace (wr ibhy pr-C3); (b) Khouy,8 Physician of the Palace (swnw pr-C3), Dean of the Physicians of the Palace (smsw swnw pr-C3), Chief of the Physicians of Upper and Lower Egypt (wr swnw mhw smc), and Chief of Dentists (wr iry ibh); (c) Psametik seneb,9 Chief of Physicians (wr swnw), Chief of the Dentists of the Palace (wr ibh(y) pr-c3), and Dean of Physicians (smsw swnw). The only two examples of 'iry ibh' who were not 'swnw' physicians are: (a) Menkaoureankh,10 iry ibh, who, significantly, is mentioned on a smaller scale and in a lower register, on the stele of the dentist Ni-ankh-Sekhmet, mentioned above, suggesting that he was a non-medically qualified dental subaltern, possibly a dental mechanic; (b) Neferiretes'1 in another's tomb. Of this iry ibh we know nothing.