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When you think of historic false teeth, if you ever do, you probably think of George Washington and his famous dentures. But the truth is false teeth had been around for many years before George became famous.

The first known dentures date back to about 700 BC, and were made by the Etruscans using human and animal teeth. The ancient Egyptians also took human or animal teeth, fastened them to wires and made dentures out of them. The tribes of ancient Mexico would replace lost teeth with wolf teeth, while the Mayans experimented with dental implants made of bone, shells, and even rocks!

Dentures made out of ivory made an appearance in the 1700’s. Washington had false teeth made of ivory, along with teeth from people and animals. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the people of Belgium took the teeth from the corpses on the battlefield and shipped them to England for profit. Having “Waterloo teeth” was a status symbol. There is no accounting for taste. Porcelain was first used for teeth in 1774, but dentures as we know them would not be invented until 1820, by a man named Claudius Ash in England. He mounted porcelain dentures on metal plates, but would later create a less expensive version out of a type of hardened rubber.

As our dentist, Dr. Asal Shirazi can tell you, getting dentures is an easy and inexpensive way to replace a few or all of your missing teeth. If it is time to rehab your smile and you live in the Brea, California area, call 714-870-2000 today to make an appointment at Fullerton Dental Care.