Dentures made from human teeth found in medieval Tuscany

[Angela]

I find this rather disturbing. How the heck did they get the teeth? After death of the donor I hope. etrified:

See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5024-161117-italy-prosthesis-denture

"PISA, ITALY—The Local, Italy, reports that a team of paleopathologists from the University of Pisa found a denture dating to between the late fourteenth and early seventeenth centuries in the mass grave of more than 200 members of the Giunigi family in Lucca’s convent of San Francesco. The denture consists of five canines and incisors obtained from different people, covered in a layer of metal. A strip of gold was attached at the base for wearing over the lower gums. A layer of tartar over the surface of the device indicates that it was used for a long period of time. Team member Simona Minozzi explained that scholars know about dentures from this period through historical descriptions, but this is the first known example of them. The team has not been able to match the prosthesis with a jaw from the grave."

They don't say how they stayed on.

 

[Twilight]

I find this rather disturbing. How the heck did they get the teeth? After death of the donor I hope. etrified:

See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/5024-161117-italy-prosthesis-denture

"PISA, ITALY—The Local, Italy, reports that a team of paleopathologists from the University of Pisa found a denture dating to between the late fourteenth and early seventeenth centuries in the mass grave of more than 200 members of the Giunigi family in Lucca’s convent of San Francesco. The denture consists of five canines and incisors obtained from different people, covered in a layer of metal. A strip of gold was attached at the base for wearing over the lower gums. A layer of tartar over the surface of the device indicates that it was used for a long period of time. Team member Simona Minozzi explained that scholars know about dentures from this period through historical descriptions, but this is the first known example of them. The team has not been able to match the prosthesis with a jaw from the grave."

They don't say how they stayed on.

As disturbing as it is, Midevil villagers had to chew their foods somehow. Becides soup and porridge, there were not a whole lot of soft foods back then ^_^
http://www.medievalcuisine.com/Euriol/my-recipes/recipes-by-time-period/14th-century

 

[davef]

Teeth do well with adequate blood supply....

 

[Angela]

As disturbing as it is, Midevil villagers had to chew their foods somehow. Becides soup and porridge, there were not a whole lot of soft foods back then ^_^
http://www.medievalcuisine.com/Euriol/my-recipes/recipes-by-time-period/14th-century

Twilight, what an interesting site! Thanks for posting it.

You know, most of the Italian recipes are still made. If it's good you don't dump it. Also interesting that even in more northern climes it wasn't all just chunks of meat and hunks of bread, although I suppose we have to keep in mind that these were recipes for the wealthy.

 

[bicicleur 2]

I find this rather disturbing. How the heck did they get the teeth? After death of the donor I hope.

I'll ask my dentist where he gets them.

 

[Angela]

I'll ask my dentist where he gets them.

I sincerely hope he tells you some factory somewhere! Here they often do what they call a root canal to remove the nerve, and then do an overlay over the remains of your own tooth. I've had one, and it's expensive and painful, although it functions exactly like your own tooth.

Poor George Washington, not a good looking man at the best of times, was down to one tooth when he was sworn in. Popular myth says his dentures were wooden, but they weren't: they had bone, metal, and yes, human teeth.

Some of the human teeth were his, teeth that had been pulled because of cavities and abscesses, and some he apparently bought from living people.

http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-man-the-myth/the-trouble-with-teeth/


Yikes! It's like a mild version of the modern trade in human body parts.

Like anything else, I think the environment, diet, in this case, is a factor, but so is just plain old genetics.

In this as in other things, my husband was and is infuriating, because in addition to never getting colds, or flus, or headaches, or stomach viruses, or any of the childhood illnesses, or any other human ailments, he got one cavity in his whole life! It's all not quite human.

 

[Twilight]

Twilight, what an interesting site! Thanks for posting it. You know, most of the Italian recipes are still made. If it's good you don't dump it. Also interesting that even in more northern climes it wasn't all just chunks of meat and hunks of bread, although I suppose we have to keep in mind that these were recipes for the wealthy.

You're welcome , I suppose some of the foods are rather fancy for the era.