A Brief History Of Dentures

Dentures are more realistic looking and comfortable than ever before. However the need for dentures goes back much farther than our sophisticated materials. It begs the question, how were dentures constructed in the past? We’ve all heard the myth that George Washington had a set of wooden dentures (in reality, his dentures were made of lead, ivory, and hippopotamus teeth), but archeologists have discovered early forms of dentures that date back to thousands of years before our founding fathers.

Evidence has been found that may suggest that Egyptians were using crude technology to make a form of dentures as early as 1500 BC. They would use human teeth and thread them together using wire, and in this way the Egyptians were able to use sets of false teeth as replacements for those with lost or missing teeth.

Ancient Mexican tribes were able to use false teeth even early than the Egyptians. They would use animal teeth to replace their own, even though they weren’t sophisticated enough to employ the wire to hold them together. The exact process still isn’t known, but it is thought that they would simply insert the animal teeth into the sockets along the gum line. It doesn’t seem super sanitary, but whatever works!

History’s oldest known set of dentures was discovered in Japan. They were a set of wooden teeth traced back to the Ganjyoji Temple. The wood was from a tree called Buxus microphylla, or Japanese Box tree, as it’s more commonly known. The dentures had the same shape as modern dentures and were held in the mouth with a form of suction at the roof of the mouth. These Japanese dentures worked so well that they were used all the way until the late 19^th century. If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!

The first set of porcelain dentures was constructed in Europe around the 1770’s. The first patent for dentures was by Nicholas Dubois De Chemant in 1791, and he began marketing his product the next year. From this point forward, dentures became more durable and reliable all the time, leading up to the dentures we know today!

We no longer use wood, animal teeth, or gold wire in the construction of your dentures, but we still think they’re pretty cool and reliable! To talk more about dentures and if they’re right for you, please contact Auburn Family Dental, located in Wichita, KS!