Shakespeare's Dentist
     
     
     Dentistry in Shakespeare's time was a very crude and disgusting art.  
Teeth were ruined by the efforts to keep them clean.  They were rubbed 
with a mixture of powdered pumice stone, brick and coral.  This not only 
took off the stain, but took off the enamel as well.  Other ways to clean 
teeth were to rinse them with a solution of honey and burnt salt, sugar and
honey, or a quart of vinegar and honey and half a quart of white wine 
boiled together.
     Going to the dentist could cost you your life.  People died of blood 
loss and pain due to the instruments that they used.  These included pliers,
keys with claws -- this dislocated the tooth from the socket--, pelicans -- 
these dragged the tooth out sideways--, and an instrument that pulled out 
the roots.
     Bad breath was treated with water and vinegar, then chewing masticke 
and washing the mouth out with a solution of Annis seeds, mints, and 
cloves sodden in wine.  Also, by placing roasted turnip parings behind a 
person's ear, you could rid him or her of bad breath.
     During this time, fillings were also used.  The most common materials 
were gold leaf, molten lead,  or silver scrapings. But usually if the tooth 
was bad, it was just removed and "replaced" with a healthy one from someone 
else.  The "someone else" was a poor person needing money.  The dentist 
would pull one tooth after another to see which one would fit his patient's 
mouth.
     When the human supply of teeth went down, the teeth of sheep, dogs, 
goats and baboons were used.  If these supplies went down, teeth from 
dead people and soldiers were used.
     Eventually, false teeth were used.  These were made from hippopotamus 
bones, walrus ivory, silver, mother-of pearl, enameled copper attached 
to an ivory base, porcelain plaster, or vulcanite and celluloid, 
which was extremely flammable. 
  
  
  Questions -- answer in complete sentences.
  
  1. Why did attempting to clean one's teeth usually destroy them?
  
  2. Why could going to the dentist cost you your life?
  
  3. What were the two most horrible tools used on teeth?
  
  4. If you were poor, how could you make money in the false teeth 
      business?
  
  5. Name the two most awful places to get false teeth?  Why?
  
  6. Why could smoking be dangerous if you had false teeth?
  
  THE ASSIGNMENT
  
     Write a paragraph on someone's first trip to the dentist.  
Include why he or she went and what happened.  Be descriptive.  If you 
feel creative, you might want to write as if you were the patient 
at an Elizabethan dentist.
  
                         AND
  
     Write or draw and ad for a dentist or a dental care formula that 
could have been posted in Shakespeare's day.