George Washington's False Teeth

Link: http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/faq/index.html

George Washington, the father of our country suffered from the deterioration of his teeth which caused him a great deal of pain. He visited many dentists and no one knew what to do to help him prevent the deterioration of his teeth and the pain he experienced. In the 1700's dental hygiene knowledge was limited.

In 1772 Dr. Baker of Philadelphia extracted several of Washington's teeth. Finally, George had to have false teeth made.

Have you ever wondered why George Washington's expression in most of his pictures looks a little sour or peculiar? Well, it's because of his false teeth! Those false teeth were very uncomfortable. The teeth were made out of hippopotamus ivory and cow's tooth, carved by hand, and held in his mouth with metal springs. The false teeth were made a little large for his mouth and without a doubt were very uncomfortable!

Take a trip to the University of Maryland's National Museum of Dentistry and see the teeth firsthand. A handwritten document addressed by our American president rests in your Library of Congress regarding his teeth!