In honor of Presidents Day, we are going to explore the dental histories of some famous US Presidents. You might be surprised to learn what some of our presidents had done in the dentist chair.
George Washington: George Washington’s false teeth were almost as popular as he himself was. Poor George Washington never told a lie… but apparently historians love to tell lies about him! Contrary to popular belief, our First President never had dentures made of wood–they were made of ivory! Why’d he look so stern in all his portraits? Well, it’s because many of his dentures were ill-fitting, which distorted his lips.
President Lincoln was rarely photographed smiling with his teeth.
Abraham Lincoln: It’s rumored that Lincoln had a phobia of going to the dentist, which started when a dentist mistakenly broke off part of his jaw bone while extracting a tooth–all without any anesthesia! Following this incident, Lincoln used chloroform to self-medicate on future dental visits.
John Adams: John Adams apparently didn’t do his twice-yearly Dental Checkups. He also started smoking when he was just 8 years old–those two combined might have been what caused him to lose all his teeth! He refused to wear fake ones, resulting in a lisp when speaking! (the average cost of a cleaning, X-Ray & Exam is $250… but DentistUSA.com has great new patient specials!)
Woodrow Wilson: People were astonished to see the President had such horrible teeth after viewing this picture taken at his 1913 inauguration. Interestingly, poor dentition has been suspected to increase the risk of strokes…which President Wilson suffered from later on in his presidency!
Here’s just a little history of your US President’s Smile. With the advances in dentistry, hopefully you won’t suffer the same fate as our presidents. Visit a dentist, get your pearly whites checked out!
Have a great Presidents Day Weekend!
Source: “Dental History of U.S. Presidents.” Journal of Endodontics Research. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http://endodonticsjournal.com/blogs/7/Dental-history-of-US-presidents.html>.
