Kenneth Glad
For thousands of years, keeping a healthy smile was less about hygiene and more about survival. Before modern medicine, suffering from severe dental problems meant enduring remedies that were often far more painful than the aches themselves.
Early attempts to relieve severe oral discomfort involved strange and agonizing treatments.
According to HistorieNet, ancient Egyptian healers believed warm, dead mice absorbed solar energy that could draw out pain when held against bad teeth.
If the rodent cooled down, practitioners mashed the animal into a paste to smear over the patient’s gums.
In Mesopotamia around 600 BC, people believed oral cavities were caused by parasitic worms eating away at gums and roots. Historical accounts show this strange belief persisted across Asia and the Middle East until the 1800s.
By the classical era, physicians turned to heavy substances to numb the agonizing pain. The Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus recorded mixtures containing opium, mandrake root, and cinnamon.
Other early practitioners relied on cannabis and henbane to dull unbearable toothaches.
Crude extractions
When teeth began to rot or loosen, early dentistry relied on crude mechanics.
HistorieNet writes that Etruscans around 700 BC used gold bands and tiny nails to lash loose teeth to healthy neighbors.
Proper tooth extraction remained a terrifying, unregulated gamble for centuries. Unqualified blacksmiths offered quick removals using heavy iron pliers, promising quick relief that rarely materialized.
During a 1685 procedure, the personal extractor for King Louis XIV of France pulled out a piece of the monarch’s upper jawbone alongside a stubborn molar.
The resulting hole between his mouth and nose forced the surgeon to cauterize the wound using a red-hot iron rod.
A permanent solution
Nitric acid was used during the 1640s to strip away surface stains, but it destroyed protective enamel and ruined teeth shortly after application.
Modern dentistry finally began taking shape around 1700 in Paris, where trained specialists called “dentistes” focused on preserving natural teeth with gold crowns and preventative care instead of aggressive pulling.
Demand for replacement teeth soared during the 19th century, leading to a grim trade in human remains.
Traders scoured battlefields to harvest teeth from fallen soldiers, selling them to European dentists for prosthetic dentures known as “Waterloo teeth.”
Porcelain and progress
As the grim trade in battlefield remains faded, innovators searched for synthetic alternatives to human bone and ivory.
Porcelain dentures gained popularity later in the 1800s, offering patients a far cleaner and less painful substitute for decaying animal teeth.
Early designs were fragile, but rapid improvements in ceramic manufacturing soon made them durable enough for daily meals.
By the 20th century, modern acrylics revolutionized artificial teeth completely, turning dental care from a terrifying ordeal into an accessible medical practice.
Plastic resin allowed dentists to craft lightweight, custom-fit prosthetics at a fraction of the previous cost.
Within decades, routine cleanings and synthetic fillings replaced the horrific extractions that had haunted patients for centuries.
Sources: HistorieNet
