Dental forceps are likely the oldest of all dental instruments after the fingers. Greek and Roman examples are known and all the medieval writers describe and illustrate them. Apparently, they were used as much for shaking teeth to loosen them as for extraction. Several forms evolved andare characterized by their resemblance to the beak of a particular bird or jaws of a dog. Ryff, in 1545, showed early forms of both the parrot’s beak and crow’s bill.
An early crow’s bill form of dental forceps, potentially from the second half of the 16th century, forged steel with linear decorative elements, and worn cross-hatching on the inner aspect of the distal third of the jaws.