[The role of the life and works of Adolf Zsigmondy and Ottó Zsigmondy in the history of dentistry].

Adolf Zsigmondy and his son Ottó Zsigmondy were dentists of Hungarian origin who lived in Vienna. It was A. Zsigmondy's idea the method of teeth marking on the Zsigmondy-cross called later after him. This is the basis of the presently used marking method recommended by the FDI. He was the first to describe the contact and wear of the approximal side of the teeth. He continued to develop the cohesive gold fillings. O. Zsigmondy's more limited professional field of research was the preserving dentistry, he used sodium-superoxide for widening the rootcanal and he made permanent fillings of black hard guttapercha. On basis of observations carried out on himself he described the two-phase or temporal mastication called after him. He was also much engaged with professional politics, in his publications he strove for recognition of dentistry as an organic part of medical science.