What did people do about wisdom teeth before dentists started pulling them out?

if they are so problemsome then why dont you hear about people before surgery existed for wisdom teeth?

What did people do about wisdom teeth before dentists started pulling them out?
Back then, it was common for people to just put up with the pain and suffer the dental problems.





Wisdom teeth are just left in to rot.. Before the 20th Century, dentists had to resort to using whiskey to get a patient inebriated before pulling a painful tooth.





Look at George Washington for instance. The poor guy had a lot of tooth decay and periodontitis, and he had constant toothaches throughout his life. It%26#039;s a miracle that with all that discomfort he was able to win a war then run a country, and live to his 60s.





Check out the denture George Washington had to wear: http://www.alabama-dentist.com/cosmeticm...





All I can say is, OUCH!
Reply:They did have surgery, it just didn%26#039;t involve novocaine :-D
Reply:Pliers and mash (strong drink)
Reply:What did they do? They suffered mostly. Dentistry is a very old profession, and they did actually pull the troublesome teeth when they could. It wasn%26#039;t pleasant, either. Generally they simply got you as knee walking drunk as possible, and used a pair of pliers to do the job. Ancient Egyptians pulled teeth, not always completely though- to relieve absesses and toothaches, and to remove decayed teeth. Queen Elizabeth I had several teeth pulled, one reason she didn%26#039;t smile a lot in later years was because of it. George Washington wore false teeth, his were also pulled by barber/dentists. So the problem did exist, and there were dentists to pull the teeth. Of course, conditions meant you waiting as long as you could before you had it done. No anesthetics, no antibiotics, no professional training, there isn%26#039;t much to make you want to remember it. All in all, it makes modern methods look really attractive. At least we have pain killers and anesthetics, and the dentist isn%26#039;t using a pair of pliers he inherited from the guy who trained him in the art of shaves and haircuts.
Reply:What did they do, back in the older than dirt days...?





THEY SUFFERED.........
Reply:Wisdom teeth have really only become a problem in the last few centuries. Our jaws have gotten quite a bit smaller in response to the fact that we eat more processed and cooked foods than our ancestors did.





Humans have been pulling infected teeth for a couple thousand years, back to biblical times at least. If the tooth was too impacted to pull, then the person just suffered through the infection and pain until the mouth stabilized and healed. In severe cases the infection could be fatal, and if it was survived, the person would still have an abnormal bite for the rest of their lives since the other teeth, especially on the bottom, were crowded out of proper position...





In those older times when our jaws had began to shrink, but not by so much as today, the teeth would get stuck, but not cause an infection or any biting problem much of the time. Even today, I have seen many x-rays which showed wisdom teeth that never came up through, and the patient had no idea they were even there. In fact, that was the case with me... they were severely impacted, but didn%26#039;t cause any problem. I had them removed just to be sure, but might have been able to just let them sit there...


Best,


Ed, RN
Reply:Lots of good answers above. People died pretty young in those days, too. Get a raging infection, you croak. No antibiotics.
Reply:They suffered. People in countries that lack dental care still suffer. If there was a problem you waited as long as you could until someone pulled it out with some arcane tool. If your tooth was infected you either pulled it or prayed it didn%26#039;t kill you, which did happen on occasion. Part of the reason they are so problemsome now is that people tend to keep thier teeth, if you were already missing a couple and more teeth came in and help closed up the space, it was a happy day. When you still have all your teeth and they come in and crowd the others, it%26#039;s not a happy day.
Reply:The simple answer was ... they died...





You need to read about the vestigial nature of wisdom teeth, and acknowledge the complex phylogeny about us as a species. Go to http://oceansurgical.com.au/documents/oc... to find out more on the prophylactic removal of wisdom teeth.



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