dentists used cocaine and plaster

I'll continue on with the dental theme here. If you read the previous article on dental drills you'll be squirming in your seat just thinking about the pain. Thankfully, it's not quite so bad these days.

Anesthesia and analgesia was introduced at the end of the 1800's. Interestingly, cocaine and nitrous oxide were used.

ivory dentures from 1700's

These days dentists can create extremely realistic looking teeth which can be integrated into the jaw bone using a titanium base. Titanium will actually bond to bone, so it's a good material to use when trying to attach things to bone. The bonding process is called osseointegration.

But in the old days, dentures were your only option. Impressions were taken using plaster which needed to be chipped away (painfully) and then reassembled to make a mold. I can't imagine how unpleasant it would be to have a mouth full of wet plaster.

Dentures were made of wood, ivory, or tortoise shell. The teeth were made of ivory or porcelain.