Special Publication Is Dedicated to the Work of a Swiss Oral Health Pioneer

The Swiss Dental Journal has published a special issue devoted to the life and work of Dr. Hans R. Mühlemann, a pioneer in the research of caries and periodontitis. Born in 1917, Dr. Mühlemann dedicated his life to reducing the prevalence of caries and periodontitis in Switzerland through research, teaching, and mentoring the next generation of oral professionals until his death in 1997. He was also a strong proponent of the dental hygiene profession.

Dimensions of Dental Hygiene’s Editor in Chief Emerita Anna M. Pattison, RDH, MS, contributed to the special issue about Dr. Mühlemann’s life and work, as he hired her to work in the Department of Periodontics at the University of Zurich and to help plan for the first Swiss dental hygiene school in 1971. She had the following thoughts to share on Dr. Mühlemann’s important contributions to the field of dentistry and oral health. Ms. Pattison was the only dental hygienist invited to contribute to the special issue.

“Dr. Mühlemann’s career was special because he single handedly took on the challenge to reduce caries and periodontal disease in his country of Switzerland by spearheading and mentoring many talented researchers, teachers, public health dentists, and most importantly, dental hygienists, to achieve these lofty goals. He was largely responsible for fluoridation in Switzerland (fluoride is added to salt in Switzerland, instead of community water, thereby avoiding a lot of the political problems experienced in the United States) and he was responsible for the establishment of the first dental hygiene program in Switzerland at the University of Zurich.  He was the ‘Alfred C. Fones’ of the dental hygiene profession in Switzerland. 

He led the establishment of school dental clinics, which were staffed by dentists and dental hygienists in school systems all over Switzerland. My husband, Dr. Gordon Pattison, worked as a school dentist in a Zurich middle school, while I worked at the university. All Swiss school children have mandatory dental visits, receiving prophylaxes, fluoride treatments (varnish), sealants, and any necessary fillings, extractions, orthodontics, etc, while they are in school. All services are provided twice a year from kindergarten through high school. 

The school dental hygienists coordinate and teach the elementary school teachers to give toothbrushing instructions with high-fluoride toothpaste to their entire classrooms on a regular basis, four times a year. By the time they are teenagers, all Swiss children know how to brush well and are used to visiting the dental clinic every 6 months. Switzerland does not have socialized dentistry for adults, but when Swiss teenagers finish high school, they are dentally healthy with high oral health literacy, so most of the population visits a private dentist regularly even though the government does not pay for it.  

The articles in this special issue detail the projects, goals, and successes of Dr. Mühlemann’s career. It is a unique story because I don’t think there has ever been another country on earth where prevention, early intervention, and education were so well planned and executed in a 50-year span under the direction of one individual. During that time, the caries rate in Switzerland fell from 90% to 10%, and periodontal health improved dramatically, as well.  Even though the Swiss population consumes the highest amount of chocolate of any country, it is protected by fluorides and good oral hygiene. Dr. Mühlemann knew that no system of dental care could succeed without an army of dental hygienists to instill good oral hygiene and compliance from early childhood to adulthood.  He was a fierce champion of dental hygienists and he diligently lobbied the Swiss Dental Association to convince its members that dental hygiene schools were necessary. His own daughter was a member of the first graduating class of dental hygienists in the country. There is an interview with her in this issue.”

Dr. Mühlemann’s story is one of interest to all oral health professionals. Please feel free to download a complimentary copy of this special issue detailing Dr. Mühlemann’s many accomplishments.