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This used to be quite common. In Ireland for example back in the 1970s about 30% of the population had no natural teeth whatsoever. It used to be a common thing

This used to be quite common. In Ireland for example back in the 1970s about 30% of the population had no natural teeth whatsoever. It used to be a common thing for young women to have all their teeth pulled and replaced with dentures before being married. It was seen as a desirable trait for en eligible bride to be.

lettergram 8y ago
Do you have a citation on that, I’m genuinely curious about the stats on that.
- gwern 8y ago
  I don't know about Ireland, but I did recently look up the same statistics for the UK: https://www.gwern.net/Questions#physical-beauty https://www.gwern.net/Questions#physical-beauty You can source it to the UK national dental surveys (which wouldn't be surprising if they covered Ireland as well), for example, https://archive.org/details/np70033823/page/n1 https://archive.org/details/np70033823/page/n1
proy24 8y ago
I was genuinely thinking about this...I mean for enamel is so high maintenance and gets spoilt so easily not just germs but also acid reflux and natural decay...
evmar 8y ago
This is still common. I recall the anecdote that there is one US state where one in four people have no teeth, due to getting them all pulled, though I can't find the data now. My wife is a dentist. One of her classmates told the story of their parent's dental practice, where someone had taken their teenager in, discovered they needed some expensive dental work, and said "take out all the teeth, they're gonna fail eventually anyway".
- chronogram 8y ago
  How does a parent have the ability to say that over some teen's body..? It's horrible to me to read that people would just say that.
  - ryanmarsh 8y ago
    Having had wisdom teeth removed, a couple root canals and several cavaties, and having seen the discomfort and problems my wife and daughter’s impacted teeth have had on them, you could do much worse than just ripping them all out and replacing them with high quality manufactured teeth. Human teeth are about as reliable as the gal bladder. Obviously it would be preferable to maintain your essence but (post)agrarian diets and lifestyles disagree.
    - chronogram 8y ago
      Yes I know they're not the most reliable teeth in the world, that's not what I'm talking about. A parent saying "take out all the teeth, they're gonna fail eventually anyway"? Am I weird for thinking that sounds horrible? I can't even try to make analogies for it because whatever I think of is not as bad as that quote.
      - taysic 8y ago
        I think its horrible - its far too early to make that decision for your child. I think its something a person should make for themselves. "Expensive dental work" could mean only a few teeth impacted - the rest may be perfectly great. I see no reason to take them out.
        ryanmarsh 8y ago
        For many children, my daughter in this case, it was an option, and was suggested. We didn't go that route but given both parents teeth and the dentist's assessment it would have been reasonable. I think what your main concern is that such a drastic body modification should not be done in a flippant manner. I feel the same way about hormone therapy.
zawerf 8y ago
Why is it a desirable trait for eligible brides specifically? Are you implying something about the country's preferences for toothless blowjobs or do I just have a dirty mind?
- Pharmakon 8y ago
  No, it was to save on future dental costs, and that was seen as desireable not... what you said. It was not atypical for it to be paid for by the parents or either bride or groom as a wedding present. The idea was that pulling all of the teeth and replacing them with dentures was inevitable, and by doing it before tons of money was spent preserving the natural teeth for some time, you’d be setting the couple up for financial success.
maxxxxx 8y ago
Don't you start losing bone mass once the teeth are out?
- barry-cotter 8y ago
  Only if you don’t get implants, a bridge or dentures. It’s not about the teeth per se, it’s about the pressure you exert on the bone underneath the teeth. If you can still bite hard and exert force on the underlying bone you’ll be fine.
  - koheripbal 8y ago
    What a horrible design.
  - anticensor 8y ago
    Jaw bones have a different (and much more sensitive) neural configuration.
  - therealx 8y ago
    No, only if you get implants (and they are done right.) Bone still recedes if you have a denture or bridge. Its such a common issue that dental software ships with a video to show patients this. Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl6skf2g4pw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl6skf2g4pw

lettergram 8y ago

Do you have a citation on that, I’m genuinely curious about the stats on that.

gwern 8y ago
I don't know about Ireland, but I did recently look up the same statistics for the UK: https://www.gwern.net/Questions#physical-beauty https://www.gwern.net/Questions#physical-beauty You can source it to the UK national dental surveys (which wouldn't be surprising if they covered Ireland as well), for example, https://archive.org/details/np70033823/page/n1 https://archive.org/details/np70033823/page/n1

proy24 8y ago

I was genuinely thinking about this...I mean for enamel is so high maintenance and gets spoilt so easily not just germs but also acid reflux and natural decay...

evmar 8y ago

This is still common. I recall the anecdote that there is one US state where one in four people have no teeth, due to getting them all pulled, though I can't find the data now. My wife is a dentist. One of her classmates told the story of their parent's dental practice, where someone had taken their teenager in, discovered they needed some expensive dental work, and said "take out all the teeth, they're gonna fail eventually anyway".

chronogram 8y ago
How does a parent have the ability to say that over some teen's body..? It's horrible to me to read that people would just say that.
- ryanmarsh 8y ago
  Having had wisdom teeth removed, a couple root canals and several cavaties, and having seen the discomfort and problems my wife and daughter’s impacted teeth have had on them, you could do much worse than just ripping them all out and replacing them with high quality manufactured teeth. Human teeth are about as reliable as the gal bladder. Obviously it would be preferable to maintain your essence but (post)agrarian diets and lifestyles disagree.
  - chronogram 8y ago
    Yes I know they're not the most reliable teeth in the world, that's not what I'm talking about. A parent saying "take out all the teeth, they're gonna fail eventually anyway"? Am I weird for thinking that sounds horrible? I can't even try to make analogies for it because whatever I think of is not as bad as that quote.
    - taysic 8y ago
      I think its horrible - its far too early to make that decision for your child. I think its something a person should make for themselves. "Expensive dental work" could mean only a few teeth impacted - the rest may be perfectly great. I see no reason to take them out.
      - ryanmarsh 8y ago
        For many children, my daughter in this case, it was an option, and was suggested. We didn't go that route but given both parents teeth and the dentist's assessment it would have been reasonable. I think what your main concern is that such a drastic body modification should not be done in a flippant manner. I feel the same way about hormone therapy.

zawerf 8y ago

Why is it a desirable trait for eligible brides specifically? Are you implying something about the country's preferences for toothless blowjobs or do I just have a dirty mind?

Pharmakon 8y ago
No, it was to save on future dental costs, and that was seen as desireable not... what you said. It was not atypical for it to be paid for by the parents or either bride or groom as a wedding present. The idea was that pulling all of the teeth and replacing them with dentures was inevitable, and by doing it before tons of money was spent preserving the natural teeth for some time, you’d be setting the couple up for financial success.

maxxxxx 8y ago

Don't you start losing bone mass once the teeth are out?

barry-cotter 8y ago
Only if you don’t get implants, a bridge or dentures. It’s not about the teeth per se, it’s about the pressure you exert on the bone underneath the teeth. If you can still bite hard and exert force on the underlying bone you’ll be fine.
- koheripbal 8y ago
  What a horrible design.
- anticensor 8y ago
  Jaw bones have a different (and much more sensitive) neural configuration.
- therealx 8y ago
  No, only if you get implants (and they are done right.) Bone still recedes if you have a denture or bridge. Its such a common issue that dental software ships with a video to show patients this. Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl6skf2g4pw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl6skf2g4pw