George Washington’s false teeth were made from hippopotamus and elephant ivory held together with gold springs.
Before synthetic material the prefered choice was human teeth. The preffere donor was young and dead; battlefields were ideal.
50,000 dead at Waterloo were plundered for their teeth. For years afterward dentures were known as Waterloo Teeth.
The Civil War also provided a plentiful supply.
Celluloid was the first artificial material to be tried. Celluloid teeth smelled like ping pong balls and melted if you drank hot tea.
Fr0m The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson
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