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Back in colonial times, a common part of two people getting married was the bride's father paying to have all her teeth pulled and replaced with a set of false

Back in colonial times, a common part of two people getting married was the bride's father paying to have all her teeth pulled and replaced with a set of false teeth -- because the state of dental hygiene was so bad then that it was just assumed that she would lose all her teeth eventually, and that way the husband wouldn't have to bear the expense of dealing with it. It was a kind of dowry. I look at those photos and wonder if something similar wouldn't be a nice benefit for newly minted pro hockey players.

koboll 7y ago
Source? That's an amazing fact
- gwern 7y ago
  I've heard this before, but about England and only as something relatively rare: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/smile-a-perfect-smile-but-dont-laugh-we-have-officially-lost-our-dentures-1336158.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/smile-a-perf...
  - J-dawg 7y ago
    In 'Road to Wigan Pier', George Orwell found that many working class people saw their teeth as an inconvenience to get rid of as soon as possible. > Several dentists have told me that in industrial districts a person over thirty with any of his or her own teeth is coming to be an abnormality. In Wigan various people gave me their opinion that it is best to get shut of your teeth as early in life as possible. 'Teeth is just a misery,' one woman said to me. In one house where I stayed there were, apart from myself, five people, the oldest being forty-three and the youngest a boy of fifteen. Of these the boy was the only one who possessed a single tooth of his own, and his teeth were obviously not going to last long. http://www.george-orwell.org/The_Road_to_Wigan_Pier/5.html http://www.george-orwell.org/The_Road_to_Wigan_Pier/5.html
    - gwern 7y ago
      Yes, the rate of dentures in England was astonishingly high: many, if not most, people would get out most or all of their teeth at some point in their life. There's no question of that, the national dental surveys show that. The question is one of bridal customs.
m463 7y ago
The barber pole was originally an advertisement for surgery and more. If I recall, Red meant bloodletting, White meant teeth, Blue meant haircuts. The Joe Rogan interview with Lindsey Fitzharris was a lot of fun. (also the interviews with elon musk, john carmack)
- tashoecraft 7y ago
  I thought the barber pole was because shaving involved cutting people up so bad, that the blood soaked rags were hung outside.
- OJFord 7y ago
  > If I recall, Red meant bloodletting, White meant teeth, Blue meant haircuts. I'm not sure that can be right, because I think blue's only used in the USA. (At least, I only see it with blue in emoji; in England they're red and white. Amusing if it is though, and the only still-relevant colour has been lost here!)
  - m463 7y ago
    Ok here it is... > In Renaissance-era Amsterdam, the surgeons used the colored stripes to indicate that they were prepared to bleed their patients (red), set bones or pull teeth (white), or give a shave if nothing more urgent was needed (blue). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber's_pole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber's_pole
triceratops 7y ago
That makes absolutely no sense. Chewing with dentures, especially dentures in colonial times, is painful and awkward as heck. George Washington had trouble with his teeth for well over 20 years. You really think people willingly went in for that trouble?
- peteretep 7y ago
  > You really think people willingly went in for that trouble? I have no trouble believing anyone went to any lengths to look good
  - triceratops 7y ago
    Dentures back then were ill-fitting, uncomfortable, and expensive. Check out Washington's portraits in his later years. They are, by no means, the definition of "looking good".
WalterBright 7y ago
My father knew a fellow who was having trouble with his teeth. His dentist convinced him that he'd be better off with all his teeth pulled and use dentures instead. My father said he was very sorry he'd done that - no matter how bad his teeth were, they were better than dentures. I remembered that story when I was 21 and the dentist wanted to pull all my wisdom teeth. I asked him what was wrong with them. He said nothing, but they were in a difficult spot to clean and I'd lose them by the time I was 30 from rot. I changed dentists. I'm old now, and my wisdom teeth are the healthiest teeth in my mouth :-)

koboll 7y ago

Source? That's an amazing fact

gwern 7y ago
I've heard this before, but about England and only as something relatively rare: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/smile-a-perfect-smile-but-dont-laugh-we-have-officially-lost-our-dentures-1336158.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/smile-a-perf...
- J-dawg 7y ago
  In 'Road to Wigan Pier', George Orwell found that many working class people saw their teeth as an inconvenience to get rid of as soon as possible. > Several dentists have told me that in industrial districts a person over thirty with any of his or her own teeth is coming to be an abnormality. In Wigan various people gave me their opinion that it is best to get shut of your teeth as early in life as possible. 'Teeth is just a misery,' one woman said to me. In one house where I stayed there were, apart from myself, five people, the oldest being forty-three and the youngest a boy of fifteen. Of these the boy was the only one who possessed a single tooth of his own, and his teeth were obviously not going to last long. http://www.george-orwell.org/The_Road_to_Wigan_Pier/5.html http://www.george-orwell.org/The_Road_to_Wigan_Pier/5.html
  - gwern 7y ago
    Yes, the rate of dentures in England was astonishingly high: many, if not most, people would get out most or all of their teeth at some point in their life. There's no question of that, the national dental surveys show that. The question is one of bridal customs.

m463 7y ago

The barber pole was originally an advertisement for surgery and more. If I recall, Red meant bloodletting, White meant teeth, Blue meant haircuts. The Joe Rogan interview with Lindsey Fitzharris was a lot of fun. (also the interviews with elon musk, john carmack)

tashoecraft 7y ago
I thought the barber pole was because shaving involved cutting people up so bad, that the blood soaked rags were hung outside.
OJFord 7y ago
> If I recall, Red meant bloodletting, White meant teeth, Blue meant haircuts. I'm not sure that can be right, because I think blue's only used in the USA. (At least, I only see it with blue in emoji; in England they're red and white. Amusing if it is though, and the only still-relevant colour has been lost here!)
- m463 7y ago
  Ok here it is... > In Renaissance-era Amsterdam, the surgeons used the colored stripes to indicate that they were prepared to bleed their patients (red), set bones or pull teeth (white), or give a shave if nothing more urgent was needed (blue). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber's_pole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber's_pole

triceratops 7y ago

That makes absolutely no sense. Chewing with dentures, especially dentures in colonial times, is painful and awkward as heck. George Washington had trouble with his teeth for well over 20 years. You really think people willingly went in for that trouble?

peteretep 7y ago
> You really think people willingly went in for that trouble? I have no trouble believing anyone went to any lengths to look good
- triceratops 7y ago
  Dentures back then were ill-fitting, uncomfortable, and expensive. Check out Washington's portraits in his later years. They are, by no means, the definition of "looking good".

WalterBright 7y ago

My father knew a fellow who was having trouble with his teeth. His dentist convinced him that he'd be better off with all his teeth pulled and use dentures instead. My father said he was very sorry he'd done that - no matter how bad his teeth were, they were better than dentures. I remembered that story when I was 21 and the dentist wanted to pull all my wisdom teeth. I asked him what was wrong with them. He said nothing, but they were in a difficult spot to clean and I'd lose them by the time I was 30 from rot. I changed dentists. I'm old now, and my wisdom teeth are the healthiest teeth in my mouth :-)