A world of dentures old and new
Once while waiting in a queue, I saw a kindly avuncular looking man lean over to say to a woman, ‘Your little child has the loveliest smile … what a great set of delf.’ The mother seemed aghast to hear of her tiny charge’s pearly whites being likened to crockery.
Another point to ponder is that not all teeth may be real. They are a necessity to eat and with modern methods, they are carefully produced like a work of art. Sometimes, false teeth may become an artwork in themselves. Take for example, a musician that you may have not heard-tell of called Clifford Joseph Price. He is a world famous musician, graffiti artist, actor and ‘occasional orchestra’ conductor from Walsall who has a mouthful with a ‘slight difference.’ His complete set of gnashers are made of gold and hence his stage name, ‘Goldie.’ I lived in Walsall for a brief time in the late 1990s but never had the opportunity of encountering his glowing smile. And, they do say that a smile can brighten your day.
This week in Times Past we will investigate the world of dentures better known to the world at large as false teeth. Had we required dentures in previous centuries we may have had a much more unique experience. Aesthetically speaking, it may not have been all that brilliant, though.
Wooden smiles
The earliest known dentures were worn by civilisations like the Egyptians. Being of a rudimentary nature they did not always offer the wearer the most comfortable smile. These prehistoric replacements were sometimes made of bone or the use of animal teeth held together by wiring. By the 1700s ivory, human and animal teeth were commonly used. The history section of the Colgate website tells us that - ‘hardened rubber became a popular base for porcelain teeth when it was developed in the mid-1800s, and early plastics such as celluloid and bakelite’ were fashionable in the 1800s.
Presidential choppers
President George Washington’s famous false teeth were often thought to be wooden which sounds awful enough, but it turned out to be an urban myth. While he did wear false teeth, they were assembled from ‘ivory, gold, and lead.’
More on Washington’s choppers can be found in the library section of the Mount Vernon Museum who report that his dentures became so stained over time that people thought they were carved from wood. That said, wooden teeth are not as far-fetched as you might think because they were in fact widely used in Japan for almost 400 years right up to the 1900s.
In June 1815, at the end of the Battle of Waterloo, teeth hunters removed teeth from dead soldiers which they sold to be fitted on dental plates. It was not uncommon for less well-off families too, to come forward to sell a few of their teeth to the denture manufacturers.
Cootehill in 1846
During the years of the Great Hunger Cavan’s dental needs were met by Mr. Cass, Dentist, who met patients ‘for a few days’ at Mr. McGauran’s Globe Hotel, Cavan, and then on Thursday 18th December at McCabe’s Hotel, in Cootehill.
Cass specialised in all branches of dentistry from offering fillings to supplying artificial replacements for lost teeth, from a single tooth, and up to a full set.
Recycled dentures
House clearances often presented an opportunity for people to sell their relatives’ old false teeth. Certain shops gathered up sets of them and customers called to try them out until they got a pair that fitted reasonably well. On 5 January 1901, The Northern Standard let readers know, had they any old dentures lying around the house, they could post them to Messrs R. D. & B. Frazer, of Prince Street, Ipswich, who would be delighted to buy the old set and refund you for the cost of postage. But should you want them valued, Frazer’s were happy to post out their best offer and hold the teeth till they received further instructions.
Maguire’s Hotel, Belturbet
On 24 December 1886, the Cavan Weekly News advertised an artificial teeth clinic at the hands of Messrs Thackray and Davis dental surgeons who could be consulted on the third Tuesday in every month. They met with clients at Mrs Fegan’s 99 Main Street, Cavan and at the Royal Hotel, Cavan and at Maguire’s Hotel in Belturbet on the first Thursday of every month.
They used the Davies system to produce ‘artificial teeth’ and boasted of them surpassing ‘all others for economy, durability, mastication, articulation and natural appearance’ to be worn with ‘ease and comfort.’ The Davies firm was appointed to look after dentistry in all the Royal Schools throughout Ireland.
Mishap near Drum
On 3 February 1950, The Northern Standard reported on a ‘peculiar mishap’ of a man swallowing his teeth. Threshing operations were in full swing near Drum in County Monaghan when a local farmer Mr. Samuel Dawson of Cormeen was helping his neighbour when he accidentally swallowed his ‘artificial teeth.’ Bravely, Mr. Dawson continued with the work for some time, but likely feeling unwell from the effects decided to go home early. Eventually, Dr. Hardy from Rockcorry was sent for and Samuel was removed to Monaghan County Hospital for treatment. The reporter added that he was by then ‘making satisfactory progress.’
Thankfully, the professional practice of producing dentures has advanced significantly since the eighteenth century and the comfort and appearance of the teeth for a client is now taken into consideration. Today, they are indistinguishable from human teeth. Necessity may be the mother of invention but luckily inventions can also be improved.