30 Weird And Disgusting Dental Practices From History

From the bizarre to the creepy, the history of dentistry reveals some tools and procedures that will terrify you even today.While going to the dentist is something that many people dread, our fears must be nothing compared to what people in the past had to contend with. The history of dentistry indeed reveals some downright terrifying practices. For centuries, dentistry was the work of skilled laborers, not highly-trained doctors. In medieval Europe, for example, many dental procedures were carried out by barber-surgeons, medical practitioners who shaved monk's heads and used their expertise with a blade to make a profit out of surgical procedures as well. The mortality rate of these procedures was, expectedly, high. While the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution changed the history of dentistry by elevating it to a more learned profession, dental tools and practices of this era still remain largely terrifying today. For one, because anesthetic was rare, people frequently had their teeth pulled with no pain-killers. Furthermore, many dentists would pull out teeth for any toothache-related issue, even if the infection causing the pain had already spread to the gums. And as the history of dentistry moved into the 20th century and things started looking more like they do today, the tools and procedures grew no less disturbing — and fascinating. See for yourself in the photos above. After this photographic look at the history of dentistry, check out these disturbing before-and-after photos from plastic surgery’s early days. Then, see five of the creepiest medical treatments of decades past. 1. A young boy with rotten teeth at Friern Hospital in London. 1890. Wellcome Library, London 2. A supposed dentist needs help from two youths as he executes a tooth extraction. Circa 1910. Wellcome Library, London 3. Mother pulling out her son's bad tooth. 1897. Bettmann/Getty Images 4. Textbook image showing orthodontic treatment. 1906. Public Domain 5. A man pulls another's tooth in a room filled with a variety of medicines. 1872. Getty Images 6. A field dentist at work during World War I. 1915. Wellcome Library, London 7. At an outpatient dental clinic in India, a dentist extracts a tooth while the assistant holds the patient's hands. 1957. Getty Images 8. U.S. Coast Guard personnel provide medical and dental care to the Alaskan natives in the isolated village of Stebbins, pulling a tooth for one of the native women. 1950. Hulton Archive/Getty Images 9. Orthodonture machine. 1952. Found Image Holdings/Corbis/Getty Images 10. A Persian dentist extracts a tooth from a squatting patient. Date unspecified. Wellcome Library, London 11. Copy of Roman dental bridge found in Teano, Southern Italy. These makeshift dentures were made with other people's teeth. Science Museum, London 12. Image from a textbook showing dental treatment of a girl with hereditary syphilis. 1910. Internet Archive Book Images/Flickr 13. A dentist extracts a tooth from a patient on stage. 1817. Wellcome Library, London 14. "Dental work looks painful." 1905. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis/ Getty Images 15. A U.S. Army dentist extracts a tooth during the Spanish-American War. 1898. Public Domain 16. Teeth of a man suffering from lamellar cataracts. 1898. St Bartholomew's Hospital Archives & Museum, Wellcome Images 17. A dentist pulls a man's tooth with a string while making him recoil from a hot coal. 1810. National Library of Medicine 18. A World War I dentist performs a tooth extraction. Michael Kassube/Wikimedia Commons 19. A tooth-drawer with "lightness of hand" extracts a tooth from a protesting patient, amidst the chaos of his practice. Date unspecified. Henry William/Wellcome Library, London 20. A tradesman sells secondhand dentures to those who cannot afford a visit to the dentist at Waterlooplein marketplace in Amsterdam. 1955. Vagn Hansen/BIPs/Getty Images 21. U.S. Dentist Corp personnel working on patients. Date unspecified. U.S. Signal Corp 22. Steel engraving showing a tooth extraction in progress. Date unspecified. Time Life Pictures/Mansell/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images 23. Comic photograph of Army officers cleaning their friend's teeth. Circa World War II. Wellcome Library, London 24. A man with long fangs has a tooth extracted by a dentist who is standing behind the patient. Date unspecified. National Library of Medicine 25. An African dentist performs an operation on a patient that he is restraining with a wooden stick. Date unspecified. Wellcome Library, London Credits: all-that-is-interesting.com Share this story on Facebook with your friends and family!

30 Weird And Disgusting Dental Practices From History

by Zack Walkter
Published December 23, 2017

14. “Dental work looks painful.” 1905.

15. A U.S. Army dentist extracts a tooth during the Spanish-American War. 1898.

16. Teeth of a man suffering from lamellar cataracts. 1898.

17. A dentist pulls a man’s tooth with a string while making him recoil from a hot coal. 1810.

18. A World War I dentist performs a tooth extraction.

19. A tooth-drawer with “lightness of hand” extracts a tooth from a protesting patient, amidst the chaos of his practice. Date unspecified.

20. A tradesman sells secondhand dentures to those who cannot afford a visit to the dentist at Waterlooplein marketplace in Amsterdam. 1955.

21. U.S. Dentist Corp personnel working on patients. Date unspecified.

22. Steel engraving showing a tooth extraction in progress. Date unspecified.

23. Comic photograph of Army officers cleaning their friend’s teeth. Circa World War II.

24. A man with long fangs has a tooth extracted by a dentist who is standing behind the patient. Date unspecified.

25. An African dentist performs an operation on a patient that he is restraining with a wooden stick. Date unspecified.