During the 19th century, there was a constant risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases in Slavonia. Therefore, the counties and city authorities had a duty to take care to prevent them. In implementing these measures, they took care of the implementation of the instructions sent to them by the central state authorities, many of which are preserved in the archives of the various funds kept in the State Archives in Osijek. At the beginning of the 19th century, Osijek was granted the status of a free royal city, and it was within its competence to implement measures to prevent epidemics, for which unique bodies were set up in the city administration. After the abolition of feudalism, and especially during the time of Ban Ivan Mažuranić, began significant reforms of the public health system. The Public Health Act of 1874 was adopted, and several accompanying regulations were addressing this issue. A new law was enacted in 1894, which introduced certain newspapers, mostly to bring it into line with the new territorial organization. Regulated health care provided a useful framework for adequate public health protection and epidemic prevention.

In the second half of the 19th century, Croatia experienced a radical change in the performance of dental practice and legislation that regulates such practice. From the old feudal system when dental practice was practised by barbers-surgeons and feldshers (Old Croatian language: vidari), it is transferred to a more modern system where dental practice becomes a part of medical sciences and its implementation requires adequate medical education. The most important factor that contributed to this was the adoption of new modern laws in 1874, and then in 1894, as well as accompanying regulations, which adequately regulated the matter of public health and dental practice.