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Description: | Lead AlloyDental Cast. A casting taken from an impression of an adult's teeth and palate. The front teeth were clearly in an advanced state of decay and many teeth had been lost. This object is presumably from a dental surgery. Despite his or her poor dental health, the patient was presumably a prosperous individual; the practice of removing all teeth on reaching adulthood so as to minimise the inconvenience of future treatment was common, and continued in areas of Ireland up to the mid 20th century.Dentures of the early 19th century were usually complete sets. These could be hardwood, or made up from teeth extracted from corpses. The pillaging of mass graves from the Napoleonic Wars provided many such sets of dentures. After the Battle of Waterloo (1815), such sets were referred to in Britain as Waterloo Teeth. The creation of bespoke dentures was presumably a later development. Suggested date: Modern, 1850-1950.Length: 77.6mm, Width: 68.6mm, Height: 52.3mm, Weight: In excess of 500gms.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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