The first dentures
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| Mexican denture |
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| Etruscan fixed bridges |
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| Etruscan fixed bridges |
The Etruscans of Italy were known for using gold wire or bands to attach human and animal teeth (replacing missing natural teeth) around 700 BC.
At about 300 BC some Egyptian mummies had tooth replacements held in place with gold or silver wire.
From this time until the end of the Renaissance, not much took place in the area of replacing missing teeth.The main treatment consisted and removing teeth, and different attempts at dental hygiene and control of bad breath.
Wooden dentures
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| Japanese wooden denture circa 1800's |
In the 1500's in Japan the first recorded wooden dentures appeared and continued until the 1900's
Ivory dentures
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| Ivory and human teeth combination denture |
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| Ivory carved denture |
In the 1700',s the end of the Renaissance, dentistry began to experiment with the use of human teeth, animal teeth and carved ivory to replace missing teeth. These dentures usually did not fit well and took a long time to fashion.
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| Denture made of ivory with springs |
Springs and gold were used to attach dentures and help hold them in the mouth.
George Washington had dentures similar to this.
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| George Washington's last denture |
Waterloo Teeth.
Replacement teeth were very popular during this time for the wealthy and nobility. The main source for these teeth were cadavers or poor people selling teeth for money. After the battle of Waterloo, there were many scavengers taking teeth out of dead and dying soldiers to sell to dentists. This practice was so popular that the term" Waterloo Teeth" was coined and was a symbol of pride for the wearer of these teeth. The practice of collecting teeth from soldiers continued through the American Civil War when barrels of teeth were shipped back to Europe for dentures.
Check out this short video
Vulcanite dentures
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| Vulcanite denture |
In the early 1800's porcelain teeth became commonly available and replaced human teeth in time. Denture bases were not well fitted until the invention of vulcanite in the 1850's. The use of vulcanite lowered the cost of a denture by two thirds over a gold base.
Acrylic dentures
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| Acrylic dentures |
In the early 20th century, acrylic resin is used for denture base and later denture teeth. Since then full and partial dentures take advantage of new metal alloys to reduce weight and add strength.
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| Modern smiles |
Dentures today.
In the past 70 years, new plastics, adhesives, porcelain, zirconium, dental implants, root canal treatments, impression materials, and other items have revolutionized the replacement of teeth.
Dr. Neal at Crystal Lake Dental Associates answers all of your questions about dentures and partials.