George Washington’s
dentures were not really made of wood! He had four sets of dentures
that were made of a variety of materials, including some of his own
teeth, cattle teeth, hippopotamus bone, and elephant ivory, and held
together with metal and springs. Washington’s dentures fit poorly
and caused great discomfort, making speaking, eating, and attending
social functions very difficult for the president.
Dentures were made over
2,000 years ago! As early as 700 BC, the Etruscans were skillful
in fashioning false teeth out of ivory and bone secured by gold. That level of sophistication with dentures was not regained until the 1800s.
45 million Americans have
dentures! There are 1–2 million new denture wearers in America
every year.
2 out of 3 denture wearers
who tried denture adhesive for 4 days were more pleased with their
dentures than when they did not use adhesive.
