No Dentist? No problem ... in the Middle Ages!
No Dentist? No problem ... in the Middle Ages!
Henry VII Tudor England can show us something interesting about dental health. The year 1500 was the date that marked our familiarity with cavities.
Once upon a time in a kingdom in England far far away sat the loneliest dentist there ever was. He would travel from village to village looking for someone anyone with a rotten tooth to pull. It was hard, even though no one brushed let alone flossed all their teeth were nice and white. He then happened upon a well-to-do town that imported fine spices largely for the very rich. One of rich folks favourites was the sweet salt that had been brought back from the middle east by the crusaders.
The dentist was kept very busy pulling teeth from the rich that loved their sweets so much so that he was able to settle down and start a family. His wife came home one day with the blackest of teeth. The dentist was in shock until she explained that the new fashion was to blacken your teeth to look more like the rich.
A bit revisionist but it basically shrinks down a few hundred years. What is really interesting is that in a fairly clear point in time in the Tudor era of around 1500 you can see something very dramatic.
Prior to this point refined sugar did not really exist in any quantity. Teeth from this time frame are fairly healthy as seen in the first picture. There are no cavities. The second set of teeth are from after 1500 and the rot is very evident. Why?
Our mouths are full of many different types of bacteria - always have been, always will be. The bacteria feed on different things that we put in our mouths and how many of each type of bacteria will vary based on what you eat. Simple sugars (e.g. white sugar and all the stuff made with it) are eaten by certain types of bacteria. They get the sugar that is not cleaned off your teeth and then start to produce acids and form a plaque which is a great place for more of the bacteria to hide.
Henry VII Tudor England can show us something interesting about dental health. The year 1500 was the date that marked our familiarity with cavities.Once upon a time in a kingdom in England far far away sat the loneliest dentist there ever was. He would travel from village to village looking for someone anyone with a rotten tooth to pull. It was hard, even though no one brushed let alone flossed all their teeth were nice and white. He then happened upon a well-to-do town that imported fine spices largely for the very rich. One of rich folks favourites was the sweet salt that had been brought back from the middle east by the crusaders.
Tudor Teeth Pre Sugar
From: Hidden Killers of the Tudor Home
The dentist was kept very busy pulling teeth from the rich that loved their sweets so much so that he was able to settle down and start a family. His wife came home one day with the blackest of teeth. The dentist was in shock until she explained that the new fashion was to blacken your teeth to look more like the rich.A bit revisionist but it basically shrinks down a few hundred years. What is really interesting is that in a fairly clear point in time in the Tudor era of around 1500 you can see something very dramatic.
Prior to this point refined sugar did not really exist in any quantity. Teeth from this time frame are fairly healthy as seen in the first picture. There are no cavities. The second set of teeth are from after 1500 and the rot is very evident. Why?
Our mouths are full of many different types of bacteria - always have been, always will be. The bacteria feed on different things that we put in our mouths and how many of each type of bacteria will vary based on what you eat. Simple sugars (e.g. white sugar and all the stuff made with it) are eaten by certain types of bacteria. They get the sugar that is not cleaned off your teeth and then start to produce acids and form a plaque which is a great place for more of the bacteria to hide.
posted by Bill at
9:53 AM
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