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What was dental care like in that time period?
a. What did they use to clean their teeth?
b. What routine did they have?
Dental care was incredibly poor and lacking in the colonial time period (1600s-1700s). Since then, we have had advancements in technology and overall knowledge of teeth to know that dentistry in early America was not good. Most would eventually have to get their teeth pulled to relieve the immense amount of pain they were feeling.
a. Early Americans used tooth powders to clean their teeth instead of toothpaste. The powders were made up of things like alum, ground seashells, bone, eggshells, brimstone, baking soda, and even gunpowder! As an extra ingredient to freshen breath they would add things like cinnamon, musk, or something they liked to call dragon’s blood, which were just tobacco ashes. People could purchase these powders in larger cities but they could also be easily made at home. They did have a similar looking tool to a toothbrush that they would use, originally invented by the Chinese. In comparison to what we have now, they look very similar. These toothbrushes were made out of animal bone and pig bristle or horse hair where we now use nylon bristles and plastic.
b. Before the toothbrush was mass produced, many would take their powder solution and a rag and just wipe it along their teeth. The poor had to settle for this routine, but some of the richer people could go to a barber and have their teeth polished. Unfortunately, this really did nothing to prevent tooth decay and cavities. Most people would end up just getting their teeth pulled out to end the pain. Not only did they have a poor routine, but the foods that they ate were also full of sugar and sweetened products, such as tea and alcohol, which was rotting everyone’s teeth.
Compare and contrast dental care to then and now.
There are many differences between dental care in the 1700s to now. Some major differences include how we take care of our teeth, overall knowledge of our teeth, and eating habits. Firstly, the way we clean our teeth has changed over the years but in colonial times they did have a similar looking toothbrush to the one we use today. Though they did not have toothpaste, they had a similar tooth power they used to clean their teeth. Next, our knowledge, as a society improves everyday, and this is no different with dental care. We now know things about how to fix certain problems, whereas most people at this time have to resort to getting all of their teeth pulled. Lastly, our knowledge about what food we consume and how it affects us has changed. We know that eating too much sugar can cause damage to your teeth, unlike the colonists. In conclusion, technology has definitely improved our dental care, compared to back then, and the average American doesn't have to worry about their teeth falling out at age 20.
Why is George Washington known for bad teeth?
Many people believe that George Washington had wooden teeth. This is not true. Though having fake teeth, they were not wooden. George Washington was a very wealthy man and could afford the nicest fake teeth at the time. His fake teeth were made out of ivory and real teeth. This was normal, but not super effective for wealthy people to have dentures made out of real teeth. George Washington was never seen smiling in pictures and many think it’s because of his bad teeth.
How did dentists care for rotting teeth?
In most towns, there was one person who was the town “surgeon”, sometimes also the town barber. When people were having problems with their teeth, they would go there. The surgeon would either pull the tooth or put cabbage worms on it to get them to eat away the damaged tissue. After someone’s teeth were pulled they did have dentures at the time, usually made out of ivory and real teeth. Dentures were expensive, though, and only the rich could afford them. Some would even try to pay children for their baby teeth, saying that “most money given for a live tooth.”
What kind of disease did they get from their bad dental hygiene? And how was it treated?
Mr. Baker, one of the first dentists at the time, could cure “scurvy in the gums”. He would scrape the teeth to basically get rid of all the buildup around the gums. This was a good practice that we still use today when we go to the dentist every six months. Baker also wrote that he can keep teeth from getting rotten and let them stay nice and white until old age. He even talks about filling cavities with gold or lead, knowing that it made the pain of a cavity go away. He also did teeth transplants, putting real human teeth into a different person. They usually used dead people's teeth, like criminals, dentists’ patients, or even dead animals. Baker would extract a whole or half a tooth and fill it then either put it back in the same person, put it into another person, or put it in a set of dentures. Overall, Baker was on the right track for the advanced dentistry we have today.
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