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The Excruciating History of Dentistry: Toothsome Tales & Oral
Oddities from Babylon to Braces
For example, did you know that:
*Among the toothache remedies favored by Pierre Fauchard, the father of
dentistry, was rinsing the mouth liberally with one's own urine.
*George Washington never had wooden teeth. However, his chronic dental problems
may have impacted the outcome of the American Revolution.
*Soldiers in the Civil War needed at least two opposing front teeth to rip open
powder envelopes. Some men called up for induction had their front teeth
extracted to avoid service.
*Teeth were harvested from as many as fifty thousand corpses after the Battle of
Waterloo, a huge crop later used for dentures and transplants that became known
as "Waterloo Teeth."
| Editorial Reviews
The New York Times
Book Review, Carol Peace Robins
You'll gain a great deal of dental knowledge, acquired
quite painlessly. --This text refers to an out of print or
unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
A breezy romp through the history of dentistry that will
be excruciating only for those pained by word play, especially puns. Comedy
writer Wynbrandt has fun with this one, but he has filled it with facts,
too. He covers the world of tooth care from the Babylonians of 5000 b.c.,
worms and devils and treated them with henbane and prayer, to today's film
stars with their dentist-crafted perfect smiles. Here one learns of the
dental glory that was Rome (the first cavity is said to have been filled in
the first century a.d.), the itinerant tooth-drawers of the Middle Ages and
later eras. (``Not all tooth-drawers were crooks and deceivers. Some were
merely incompetent.''), the beginnings of the modern dental era in
18th-century France, and the profession's 19th-century efforts to rid itself
of quacks and charlatans (the world's first dental college opened in 1840).
Wynbrandt wittily chronicles the development of anesthetics, fluoride,
X-rays, drills, dental chairs, and even toothpicks. George Washington's
famous false teeth are, of course, discussed; so is Ulysses S. Grant's
dental work and George Custer's last toothbrush. Folklore, myth, religion,
movies, poetry, and advertisements--all are tapped by Wynbrandt, who quotes
liberally from a variety of contemporary sources to bring his light-hearted
history to life. While sensitive dentists may wince at having their
profession's rough-and-tumble past revealed, dental patients are more likely
to feel relief at having been born in the modern era of dentistry. Both
groups are in for a good laugh. (8 pages b&w illustrations, not seen) --
Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The San Francisco
Chronicle, Jonathon Keats
...closer in sensibility to "Ripley's Believe It or
Not!" than to a real book.
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Customer Reviews
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Reviewer: A reader
from CHICAGO, IL USA |
I enjoyed this book, but it was rather a slow read most of the time. Some
really funny incidents are chronicled here. Best for people in the dental
profession and not just the medical profession at large (like me.)
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