No one goes to their dentist voluntarily and singing. It is usually only as a last resort that we decide to entrust our teeth to a professional to relieve the unrelenting pain. However, however frightening or painful such an operation may be, we can thank goodness that technology and medicine are nowadays at the same level as they were not so long ago, when dental procedures were even more horrific.
Hand carved denture from 1790. The denture was fixed in the patient’s mouth by means of special springs.
Ancient Etruscan dentistry.
Teeth decorated with jade stones. Even when their teeth were otherwise in a deplorable state – or even missing some of them – they would still strive for ornate decoration.
Jewelled teeth were considered a privilege of the upper class.
This woman, found in the ruined city of Teotihuacan, even had her missing tooth replaced with a complete jade stone glued to her lower jaw.
Ancient Egyptians replaced their teeth with so-called donor teeth from other people, which they attached to their own teeth with gold wire.
The teeth of soldiers who died in battle were pulled out and made into dentures.
Such prostheses were called “Waterloo teeth”. The skeleton was made from the bones of hippos and the teeth were obtained from soldiers who died at Waterloo. It was a time when the carrion business, which sought the teeth of deceased soldiers, was booming.
Not only human teeth but also animal teeth have been used to make dentures. This piece dates from the 4th century BC and contains animal teeth fixed with gold wire.
The Etruscans were making dentures as early as the 7th century BC
Antique dentures decorated with gold and enamel. This was really only for the richest.
This denture was made around 1829. The front teeth were carved from porcelain, while the less visible back teeth were carved from ivory.
George Washington’s dentures were made of elephant and hippo bones, held in the president’s mouth by gold springs.
Partial prosthesis of British King William IV from the 19th century.
The prostheses of the 19th century were porcelain teeth fixed on a copper alloy plate.
A device for the repair of a broken jaw from the 19th century.
And finally, some antique dental chairs.
