THE AMERIDONTICS PRESIDENTIAL POSTING!

These days it seems everyone is focusing on the upcoming presidential election. We're no different here at Ameridontics Blog. And, no we're not going to endorse one of the candidates based on their oral health! But, we did think it might be fun to "explode" a prevalent presidential myth. We've all heard since childhood that George Washington had wooden teeth. The wooden teeth story is, well, "false". Washington did wear dentures, but as was the custom of the times, the false teeth were made of gold, lead, animal, and human teeth. No wood was used in their construction. There are four known existing dentures of our first president. One pair was recently analyzed by historians and found to be made of hippopotamus ivory and cow's teeth. Washington suffered with gum disease most of his life, and began losing his teeth while still in his twenties. His dentures "fit" over-sized giving him the stern "look" we now associate with the "the fatherof our country". That's too bad, because historians believe he was was much more fun-loving than the image on the one dollar bill would lead us to believe. He was said to be our most athletic president and quite a good dancer!