With President’s Day here we thought we’d talk about George Washington’s wooden teeth, or were they really wooden? Although many think he had wooden teeth, they were actually made of hippopotamus ivory, brass, gold, and human teeth.
Washington began to lose his teeth by the age of 24, when a dentist pulled his first one. His diary states that he paid 5 shillings to have it removed. He continued to have teeth trouble and that by the age of 30 he had lost them all. John Adams stated that it was because he used them to crack Brazil nuts, but modern historians say it was from the mercury oxide he took for various aliments. No matter what the cause, he had over 4 sets of dentures made over his lifetime and they were not very good.
Washington did experience great discomfort and facial disfigurement. No wonder he’s not smiling in most of his pictures!
Modern dentistry has come a long way since Washington was alive. Procedures now are often painless and leave you with a more attractive smile.
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