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Charles Stent
Introduction
Charles Stent (1807-1885) was a nineteenth-century English dentist notable for his advances in the field of denture making.
In 1847, Edwin Truman introduced gutta-percha as a material for making dental impressions; however, this was unsatisfactory for several reasons, including its tendency to distort upon removal from the patient’s mouth, and to shrink upon cooling. In 1856, Stent added several other materials to the gutta-percha, notably stearine, which markedly improved the plasticity of the material as well as its stability. He also added talc as an inert filler to give more body to the material, and red colouring.
The medical device called a stent derives its name from him.
Charles Thomas Stent was born at Royal Crescent, Brighton, on the 17th October 1807. He was the 6th son of William and Hannah (nee Jenkin) Stent. He had 2 sons, Charles Robert and Howard and a daughter, Fanny. Later in life, Charles Robert added his mother’s (Caroline) maiden name of Osborn, to his. Caroline outlived all her children and died in 1915 aged 92 years.
Charles Thomas and his wife Caroline are buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.