Human 'Crimean' teeth replica
Maker
The Australian College of Dentistry (estab. 1897, closed 1967)
Date
1955
Description
Lower six human incisors, wire mounted and prepared for use by the dental profession in the creation of dentures and prosthetics. They were used to No artificial teeth were available, so human teeth were boiled and bleached.demonstrate how early natural teeth were prepared for the profession.
These teeth were made for demonstration purposes at the Australian College of Dentistry in 1955.
In the beginning, dentists offered good amounts of money to those who would sell their good teeth . Those that were dreadfully poor and equally desperate, could have resorted to this. While the cadavers were sought after by anatomists to dissect, the teeth were sold for the use in dentistry, Executed murderers and convicts were often sold.
During war tens of thousands of fallen soldiers had their teeth removed, The Battle of Waterloo of 1815 and the Crimean War was fought from October 1853 to February 1856. These were later known as “Waterloo Teeth” or “Crimean Teeth” and flooded the dentist markets of Americas and Europe too. The quantities were so large that the teeth were shipped back to England in barrels. The reason why these teeth were so sought after is the fact that a vast majority of fallen soldiers at Waterloo were young, able-bodied European men – with their teeth healthy and white. Teeth would be sorted and boiled. This was the only means of sterilizing them. Afterwards, a dentist would attempt to compile a set of upper and lower teeth, cut them to shape – usually removing the root part – and affix them onto the ivory dentures. The molar teeth were not too often included in the dentures – they were noticeably difficult to remove and hard to work with. Once completed, these dentures had a realistic look.
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Object detail
human tissue
educational aids
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