168. History Of Dentures & False Teeth -By: Terry L. Weber

Part I

In short, dental and denture problems boil down to this: Do you want to smile, chew your food properly and look and feel as attractive as possible – or not?

Dental Care History:

AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION: During the long and extensive history of artificial teeth, ancient people as well as people of today would rather not talk about: false teeth, dentures, toothaches or even“going to the dentist.” Even so, it is interesting to note that mankind has always had to live with all kinds of“hidden” dental problems over the past thousands of years, so we might as welltalk about, get out in the open, and face the problems we all have, problems that are caused by our bad teeth during our lifetimes here on earth.

We are all aware of how much more attractive and socially acceptable we are when we simply -smile. But, we also have toface the fact that our beautiful smiles are not“free.” Just as back in ancient days, those most welcome smiles can be achieved in only one way: by paying the cost in both mental anguish and hard earned money for regular appointments to see the dentist. It has always been that way for the last , many, many thousands of years.

Primitive Artificial teeth have been discovered in the graves of people who lived in ancient Etruria, The skeleton of Swedish King Gustavus Vasa, who died in 1560, had artificial teeth (dentures) in his well-preserved skull. Out of thirty-two skulls that were dug up from the Bronze age (9,000 years ago) there were seven skulls that still containedsets of artificial teeth. About two thousand years ago a Roman doctor wrote in his medical book that men should wash their mouths on rising to prevent tooth decay. According to the writings of Thomas Berdmore, the dentist of King George III, tooth tartar build-up, as much as one-half inch thick was, at that time, a major cause of tooth decay.

Many people in medieval times were troubled with constant dental problems such as toothaches. In fact, the ancient Greeks were said to be the first to have used a mouthwash. They made it of castoreum and pepper. It is believed the Greeks were the first to make pliers for pulling teeth. Aristotle who lived from 384 to 322 B.C. wrote that tooth extraction could be started with pliers but should be cautiously finished by hand. Three hundred years later, Celsus agreed with him that the first step in tooth extraction was to detach the gum all around the bad tooth.

The Greeks and Phoenicians were the first to devise methods of using gold wire to bind loose teeth to nearby good teeth. Etruscans tombs, as early as 700 B.C. have revealed attempts to solder wide bands of gold over natural teeth to be held there with pins through the natural teeth. Later, the Romans, learned many dental procedures about how to make partial sets of teeth from the Etruscans, (then a part of the Roman Empire).

The Romans had great awareness and concern regarding dental importance, problems and care. In their Law of the Twelve Tables they had penalties for any form of violence causing damage to the teeth. Example:“Whoever shall cause the tooth of a free man to be knocked out shall pay a fine of three hundred “as”, that of a slave, one hundred and fifty “as.”

After the collapseof the Roman Empire, a Persian physician, Rhazes (850-923) was the first to suggest filling cavities with alum and mastic. Later, Abulcasis (1050-1122) in Arabia advised the use of dental scrapers to remove tartar build up. In fact, he taught the local “tooth barbers” (now called dentists) ways to bind loose teeth to healthy teeth with gold wire. He suggested filling gaps left by tooth removal with bone substitutes that were then held in place with gold wire.

In 1654 Englishman Peter Lowe explained that artificial teeth were being made of ivory and whalebone and then fastened in place with wire. But, until the end of the 17th century there was little or no progress in methods of treating dental problems and the practice of wearing artificial teeth was very rare. In fact, when Queen Elizabeth lost her front teeth she would, prior to appearing in public, stuff her mouth with rolls of cloth (called lip padding) to puff out her cheeks and she held a fan in front of her face when smiling, laughing and talking. We are told the same kind of padding was used by George Washington 200 years later while he was having his portrait painted.

Even the best barber-surgeons, the “tooth-drawers” of that time considered their primary task to be that of cleaning with a variety of scrapers and then washing or rinsing with a solution of nitric acid to whiten the teeth. Much damage was done after repeated applications of these acid cleaners.

At about this time, the 1600s, there was also the practice of transplantation, which involved the removal of rotten teeth and then filling their sockets with sound teeth drawn from another person. Back then; poor people often sold their healthy teeth to barber-surgeons to buy food for their hungry families. By the end of the 17th century the barber-surgeons realized more money could be made when they specialized in making false teeth for the rich.

Artificial teeth were usually made of hippopotamus or walrus ivory. Often a single piece of ivory was carved and then fastened to existing teeth with thread made of metal or silk. Because of this method of fastening the teeth in the mouth, they were difficult to remove. So, they stayed in the mouth and became quite uncomfortable over time. Back then, lower dentures were carved in one piece and closely resembled modern lower dentures. Expensive upper false teeth made of: silver, mother of pearl, enameled copper, Egyptian pebble and Italian agate could be provided and then fastened to an ivory base.

As late as 1789 these false teeth were considered a new invention and were provided as an ornamental luxury for“show only” because they were actually quite useless for eating.

Good teeth=good smiles!

Part II- DENTURES HISTORY

Let’s talk about teeth! We’ve all heard those famous last words from our dentist: “This won’t hurt a bit.” Then the drilling starts, you know the rest!

Even so, beextremely glad you are getting your dental treatments today in 2010 instead of back about five hundred years ago in 1509, when a toothache or tooth extraction required you to visit the local tooth barber-puller in the busy market place.

Back then, your treatment for a toothache meant you would have to lay on your back on the ground with your head between the tooth barber’s knees. Next he would pour in your mouth a mixture of herbs and urine to kill all of your tooth worms. Back then a worm was thought to bore a hole in teeth, causing toothache, cavities and rot. Then, with a combination of demon purging incantations, and also invoking the supernatural help of Ea, god of the abyss, the tooth barber applies a mouth-burning wad of beeswax and acid to all of your teeth. Finally, to stop your toothache, one or more of your teeth would be pulled out of their sockets using knives, thumbs and fingers. He would pull, push and cut until the bad tooth was literally torn out of the gum.

In ancient Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. mummies from that time reveal that rich Egyptian high society suffered much loss of teeth. It is believed the cause; in spite of the morning ritual of “teeth cleaning” was because the rich people there ate large quantities of sugar in their food.

Around 2000 B.C.magic and superstition were replaced by a more rational medical philosophy. But that did not last very long, and soon the belief in the toothache demon and tooth worms was slowly revived. Incense, willow leaves, sina plant, myst liquid and sweet beer were used to fumigate and anoint the mouth of the one who had the toothache.

Some of the ancient Chineserecorded nine kinds of gum disease thought to be the result of “excessive sexual intercourse.” In China toothaches were often treated with arsenic pills placed next to the offending tooth to kill the pain. Of course, the result was that the arsenic killed: nerves, nearby tissue, and sometimes stopped the toothache by killing the patient.

The Hindus, left written texts of the history of dentistry in their culture, as it was around 4000 and 3000 B.C. They describe the anatomy of the mouth, pathology, treatment and oral hygiene. Interestingly they also believed tooth worms to be the cause of cavities and toothaches. Even so they paid careful attention to the practice of a daily tooth cleaning ritual using the frayed end of a small twig from an aromatic plant. A paste of honey, oil and other ingredients was suggested to be used during the daily cleaning of teeth. They also developed a wide variety of tools for extracting teeth.

Hippocrates (around 460 B.C.)is thought to be the first to insist that medicine should not include magic and priestly incantations. His “humoral theory” explained that four bodily fluids were the main elements of both health and disease. He was an advocate of bloodletting, that later was to be used as a standard of medical practice right up to the twentieth century. He wrote in great detail about teeth, gums and tooth decay. He was one of the first to suggest that tooth decay was caused by the corrosive action of food and other debris found to be trapped between already weak teeth.

In Rome, around 450 B.C.the leading citizens could have the gaps in their teeth filled with gold shell crowns which at that time was a new method of creating artificial replacements of missing teeth. They were rather crude false teeth only good for show, not to be used when eating. The gold shells inserted in the mouth and fastened to nearby healthy natural teeth with gold wire and materials such as bone, boxwood, and ivory were carved to look like teeth and affixed to the gold shells.

It is believed thata tooth drawer named Celsus during the years between 25 B.C. and A.D. 50 filled the first cavity. The fillings were made of lint and lead. The purpose of the filling was to strengthen the empty shell of the tooth so the tooth puller would not shatter the tooth when it was squeezed with his forceps during extraction.

Now, let’s skip ahead to the years between 1460 and 1520 when an Italian surgeon named Giovanni d’Vigo advised preparation of the teeth before filling them with careful excavation and shaping of the cavities. They did this with:trephines, files, and scalpels. Next, the teeth were filled with gold leaf. At the same time, to prevent infection, arsenic was used to kill the tissue. This procedure was still in use until Novocain was introduced in the twentieth century.

The first time the term dentista (dentist) was used in print was when Ambrosise Pare, who was a military surgeon in the French army, wrote it in his journals about 1590. Later, in 1683 while using the then newly invented microscope, a Dutch tooth-drawer changed the world’s view of teeth, mouth and other oral concerns with his reports of his discoveries and explanations of what he saw and learned about teeth and gums when using the microscope.

Then, in France, in 1728,Pierre Fauchard wrote of his experiences and discoveries in dental surgery. He also warned against dangerous methods then used to treat toothache in many of the cities unclean and shoddy tooth barbershops. Fauchard was also quite adept at using silk, linen and metal threads to fasten artificial teeth and bridges (false teeth) in place. Because he explained his methods freely to other tooth surgeons, his bold thinking and methods helped advance dental practice in many ways.

Now, skipping ahead to today in 2010, as you know, dentistry has become an accepted profession where reliable and safe operations are performed every day all over the world. If you have a toothache, your dentist will first ease your pain with an injection of Novocain, then he will use a high speed, water-cooled drill to repair (or remove) your aching tooth.

Should you needto have one or more of your natural teeth removed, your dentist has the knowledge and skills to do that operation as painlessly as is humanly possible. When dentures are required to“fill the gap” your dentist knows exactly how to satisfy your need using modern acrylic plastics. The result will be the most natural looking false teeth ever produced. With your new dentures in your mouth you will understand clearly how your mouth has gone from near disaster to near perfection so you can again: smile, laugh, chew your food, and speak clearly.

good retention. Because of these three benefits, your confidence in your denture will give you peace of mind as you meet people, smile, talk and chew your food.  In addition, the denture will be durable enough to last for years.

But, keep in mindthat your new denture will eventually get loose due the natural shrinkage of your now toothless jaws and gums. When this happens you will find it necessary to stop that looseness by “filling the gaps” with your choice of (1) the addition of an expensive acrylic plastic liner bonded to the upper part of your denture by your dentist, or (2) you can a use a new patent pending denture liner that is: soft, flexible, washable, re-usable and removable: the newWeber Denture Liner. For more information you are cordially invited to go to the following website: http://www.dentureliner.com

By: Terry L. Weber

P.S. This is Part 2 of the “History of False Teeth and Dentures” series.  A new Part 3 will be published in the near future.

Final Note: Terry Weber, who has worn a denture since he was nine years old, is a retired advertising and direct mail sales letter copywriter and inventor of the (Patent Pending) Weber Denture Liner and several other useful Items.  Terry and his wife Doris were Habitat For Humanity RV care-A-Vanners who, for the past nine years have volunteered to help build more than 40 houses all over the USA.  They travel to and from the two week long builds in their thirty-one foot motor home.  The money they make on their website: http://www.dentureliner.com helps them pay their expenses to and from those volunteer Habitat builds.

P.S. (8/10) Due to therecent high cost of gasoline plus some recent health problems, they can no longer drive ther RV to Habitat builds. The RV is now parked until health improves and gasoline prices come down. Recently, (08/10)we’ve decided to sell the RV.