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Charles Thomas Stent born on 17th October 1805 in Brighton, England was the 6th son of William and Hannah Stent. He was well acclaimed for his work on improving and modifying the denture material gutta-percha, the latex of a Malayan tree found in South East Asia region. This material was used in making furniture and because of its good insulation properties was also used for telegraph cables, e.g. for insulating the first transatlantic undersea cable. In dentistry, it was then used to fill dental cavities in the root of tooth for dental impression after endodontic therapy but because of its tendency to distort after removal and shrink on cooling, the material was unsatisfactory. Charles Thomas Stent modified this gutta-percha by adding stearic acid obtained from animal fat increasing its stability and plasticity and added talc as filler, which later was known as Stent’s compound. He published his work (probably the only known) in Dental Review in 1859 where he states “I used the improved white plastic compound lately introduced by me to the Profession, which sets in the mouth in a minute or two, so that it can be removed without injury to the impression.”.6 He with his two dentist sons Charles Robert Osborn Stent (1845–1901) and Arthur Howard Osborn Stent (1859–1900) manufactured this compound commercially, by a firm located in central London named C.R. and A. Stent. After the death of Charles Thomas Stent in 1885, this compound was marketed by Claudius Ash and Sons, London and later after death of both of his sons in 1901, all rights to manufacture and marketing was with this new company keeping the name as Stent’s compound because of its popularity.7
