This is a story of the health and social problems that people have always had because our teeth need constant care. Humanity has always been concerned with toothache and a wide variety of problems with natural teeth. Five thousand years ago, the Babylonians recorded their attempts to make false teeth. Some of his treatments for toothache included prayers and incantations. In fact, the social history of false teeth dates back to the Bronze Age. Skulls from that period were found with remains of false teeth in them made of flint and shells. The ancient Greeks designed special types of pliers for tooth extraction. They even had a mouthwash made from castor and pepper to prevent cavities. It is known that the wealthy Etruscans were quite proud of their gold-banded human teeth. The human teeth that were used to make those sets of dentures were recently bought and extracted teeth from poor people who sold their healthy teeth to buy food and other necessities of life.
The first sets of dentures were nothing like those of today. They were usually made from carved wood, walrus ivory, or animal bones and held in place with wire or silk thread. We are told that Elizabeth used rolls of cloth in her mouth to fill in the gaps in her face that were caused by the loss of her natural teeth. There was a Lord Palmerston who constantly worried that his ill-fitting false teeth would pop out of his mouth unexpectedly. The story is told of President Grant, who, while on a world cruise on the presidential yacht, lost his false teeth overboard and thus was unable to deliver a series of speeches that he had planned to deliver.
Most of the false teeth users of about a hundred years ago removed their dentures while eating. In fact, they ate everything while hiding in a bedroom and only wore their false teeth when in public. This was because in those days false teeth were not made for eating, but were simply used to provide a way to make people look and speak better.
George Washington’s natural teeth were always soft and prone to cavities. He struggled with bad teeth and toothache for most of his life. It is said that he tried and wore many different sets of primitive false teeth from the age of 22 until his death. If you look closely at his portrait on today’s dollar bill, you will notice that he is not smiling. The portraitist had cotton put behind the lips to make it look much better in the final painting.
The first “dentists” (a term that was not used until many years later) to treat people’s dental problems, beginning in the 15th century in England, were barbers who later became known as barber-surgeons. Back then they were called “tooth drawers” or “tooth drawers”. They made their extractions at public market stalls. The general practice consisted of tying the patient to a chair or simply pulling and filling while straddling the patient who was forced to lie on the floor.
Over the years since then, many improvements have been made, such as: Better ways to measure the mouth for a more stable denture. There were also improved ways of cleaning and filling teeth, improvements in the materials used to make real teeth, such as porcelain instead of wood, bone, or ivory. In the early days, coil springs were often used on the top and bottom to make it easier for users to chew food while wearing those very heavy false teeth. Later it was discovered that suction on the palate could be used to give greater stability to the structure that supports the dentures in the mouth (now called: dental plaque).
An important discovery in the 19th century was the use of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) as a standard anesthetic to eliminate most of the pain associated with dental surgery and routine tooth care. Inhalation anesthesia was discovered in 1844 by Horace Wells, who was a young dentist in Hartford, Connecticut. He refused to patent the idea and made it available, he said: “for the good of all.”
One of the first fairly successful materials used to hold dentures securely in the mouth, such as dental plaque, was vulcanite made by the Goodyear Rubber Company. But it was a bit porous, difficult to clean, retained the flavor of certain foods, and often caused sore gums. Other materials used with varying degrees of success were: gold, celluloid and, of course, the current acrylic resins.
After much study and analysis of the problems people have with dentures, dentists have come to the conclusion that for a modern denture to be successful and comfortable it must have: stability, support and a reliable means of retention .
Everyone who wears dentures (dentures) understands that their dentures need basic support from their gums and jaws. They also know that stability of the denture is needed so that it does not move from side to side or front to back. They are also aware that the suction or surface tension provided by the palate is a basic need for those who want to wear teeth that are comfortable when speaking and eating. These three basic considerations, when accomplished correctly, will provide the wearer with dentures that remain securely in place while chewing food and speaking. Also, by doing what is necessary to stop the movement of the denture, the user feels much more confident and confident in the ability of his or her denture to stay in place. In this way, the user can successfully remove any embarrassment from loose dentures while eating and talking, anywhere.
Today, dentists understand that the gums and bones of the mouth always shrink and gradually change shape over time after natural teeth are extracted. These shrinkage changes occur gradually and the result is that dentures they adapt quite well when new, slowly. they lose their stability, support and retention qualities, all of which are basic necessities for continued user comfort.
Therefore, after a period of time, about a year or two after teeth are extracted and dentures are placed, adjustments are needed to make the denture again – stable, supported, and properly retained. One way to do this is to ask the dentist to re-coat the inside of the dental plaque with more acrylic material. In this way the gaps are filled and the loose prosthesis regains its original sense of tension. Another less expensive method of veneering a denture is to place an always soft and always flexible veneer material on the inside (top) of the denture. This way of solving the problem comes in a do-it-yourself kit. It’s an easy way to line a denture that can be done at home with a new kit (patent pending) called the Weber Denture Liner Kit.
The dental profession has studied the how and why of dental problems for many years, with the result that there are now hundreds of radically improved methods and materials available to make the best quality dentures for those in need today.
When we look back on those first attempts at dentures many centuries ago, we should be happy to be alive today and not have to suffer from the dental problems of the 15th century.
You can learn more about my invention to help denture and denture users on the website listed below.
http://www.dentureliner.com