In 1871, American dentist James B. Morrison (1829-1917) utilized the same foot-operated mechanism of a treadle sewing machine to create a foot operated dental drill which could achieve 2000 revolutions per minute (RPM).
The dentist pressed a foot pedal which drove a fly wheel that was attached to a pully that made the excavating burr turn.
This technology became obsolete once the first electric dental drill was patented, in 1875, by George F. Green of Kalamazoo, Michigan.
