Charles C. Bass

Charles Cassedy Bass (1875–1975) was a medical doctor and researcher on tropical medicine with significant contributions to understanding malaria, hookworm, and other diseases. Later Bass studied the relationship between dental health and the general well-being. Bass articulated and promoted the "Bass Technique of Toothbrushing" and developed improved means of flossing teeth, for which some refer to Bass as "The Father of Preventive Dentistry". He subsequently became a university administrator, serving as dean of the Tulane University School of Medicine, from 1922 to 1940. Photographs of Bass are available for on-line viewing.

In 1911, Bass discovered an in vitro method of culturing the plasmodium organism responsible for malaria, a breakthrough in finding cures for the disease. He applied this method during a 1912 series of investigations into the cause of malaria during the Panama Canal project, a part of the efforts of Colonel William C. Gorgas to provide safe and hygienic conditions in the project.

Around the same time, he succeeded in isolating the ova of the uncinaria, or hookworm, by isolating them in pure form from intestinal excreta. Additionally he contributed to the understanding of the vitamin diseases of beriberi and pellagra, being the first to recognize this disease in Louisiana. He simplified methods of diagnosing typhus, and discovered the cause and means of transmission of the poultry disease Ulcerative Enteritis. Much of Bass's early work in tropical medicine was conducted in collaboration with fellow Tulane University researcher Foster Johns.

Beginning in 1914, Bass commenced his investigations on the understanding of Entamoeba gingivalis (Endameba buccalis) in the microbiological flora of the mouth, beginning his interest in oral health. However, it was only upon his 1940 retirement from university administrative posts that he began intensive research on dental health, a period in which he made extensive use of his experience in parasitology and microbiology. Bass focused on the understanding and prevention of the principle diseases of the mouth, particularly caries and periodontoclasia. Bass carried out extensive investigation and experimentation to determine the best means of using toothbrushes and dental floss for effective prevention of the important diseases of the mouth. Bass widely promoted means of improved oral hygiene, purposefully avoiding his own personal profit in the interest of public health.

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