There are many myths about George Washington, the leader of the American military during the Revolutionary War, a Founding Father, and the first president of the United States.
One of the most enduring stories about the truly mythological Washington – aside from the one about a young Washington cutting down that cherry tree (though certainly not to be confused with the cherry blossoms that are in D.C. today) – is that he had a mouth full of wooden teeth. As you can imagine, dental hygiene in the 18th century was nothing short of a nightmare. The entire field of dentistry was still in its infancy at this point, with most people pretty much winging it. Diets that were heavy on sugars, including sweetened teas and sugary alcohol, combined with a wide variety of diseases, really wreaked havoc on people’s mouths, including even those in the upper crust of society.
George Washington was no exception, though he didn’t opt for wooden teeth, which does sound ridiculous when you think about it. How exactly would wooden teeth work in someone’s mouth? Not only would chewing become a nightmare, but the consistency of wood in someone’s saliva-soaked mouth is impossible.
That’s not to say that wooden teeth were never a thing, but by this point in history, false teeth were being put together through a variety of other sources.
So What Were George Washington’s Teeth Made Out Of?
The truth about George Washington’s false teeth is much grosser than anyone probably wants to envision, and is just yet another reason why you should never want to hop in a time machine back to the 18th century. Washington endured aching teeth and inflamed gums for most of his life, paying for dentists, toothbrushes, medications, and cleaning solutions, but nothing prevented the eventual solution in most cases, which was to simply pull out the infected tooth.
By the time he was president, Washington only had one actual tooth left, though he kept some of his decayed, black, dead teeth because he’s a freak, and also in the hopes they could one day be used in dentures, leaving them in “the secret drawer in the locker of the same desk” at Mount Vernon. That’s right, there were a bunch of Washington’s gross, loose teeth just sitting in a random desk drawer somewhere in his house.
Most of Washington’s real teeth weren’t an option for dentures, so his dentists instead opted for a wide variety of animal teeth (which was customary by this time), taking ivory from hippos, walruses, and elephants, while filling in the gaps with teeth from cows and horses. These various tooth chunks would then be fastened using brass screws, which all no doubt added up to considerable discomfort over time.
Washington was also a slave owner (and an unrepentant, sometimes vicious one at that) and would occasionally use them for their teeth. It was an acceptable practice at the time to sell one’s teeth to dentists and rich people on the hunt for decent dentures, and over the years, Washington would pay his slaves for their teeth (not at a fair price, of course), noting those transactions in his ledger.
So while George Washington never had wooden teeth, he did at times have actual teeth in his mouth. Just… not his own.
Source: You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe
