The Weirdest Dental Inventions Throughout History

Dentistry has come a long way from it's early beginnings (7000 BCE), but some of the tools used in the past were downright bizarre. Although, modern dental technology makes treatments more efficient and less painful, it's interesting (and a bit mortifying) to look back at some of the weirdest dental inventions throughout history.

The earliest and oddest dental tool was the concept of tooth worms. The Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians believed that cavities and caries (tooth decay) were caused by tiny worms living inside the teeth. This idea dates back to 5000 BCE, led to remedies like using honey or fragrant herbs to "lure out" the worms. This idea persisted for centuries and influenced the Greeks and Romans, until the 18th century when French dentist Pierre Fauchard discovered that bacteria were responsible for tooth decay not worms.

Tooth keys were a common tool used for tooth extractions in the 18th Century. This tool looked like a metal key with a claw at the end. Dentists would insert the claw around the tooth and twist the key to extract the tooth. This method was incredibly painful and often caused broken jaws. Thank goodness for modern dentistry!

Dental snuff powder was another odd invention from the 18th century and was made from tobacco. It was believed that sniffing this powder would clean teeth and cure gum disease. Now we know that tobacco has the opposite effect and contributes to gum disease and tooth decay instead of preventing it.

Tooth transplants are probably the most unusual practices that we've looked at so far. The wealthy would pay for healthy teeth to be extracted from poor people or the dead and have those teeth transplanted into their mouth. These transplants rarely worked as they would often get infected or fall out. This procedure (as it should) was discontinued in early 19th century.

Despite being unusual and barbaric by today's standards, these inventions represent early efforts to address oral health and wellbeing. It's a good reminder of how far dentistry has come and how lucky we are to be able to live in an era of painless and effective dental care!