Eighteenth and nineteenth century dental restoration, treatment and consequences in a British nobleman

Abstract

This paper examines unusual eighteenth and nineteenth century dental treatment and its consequences, in a nobleman excavated from beneath St. Nicholas' Church, Sevenoaks, Kent, UK in the early 1990s. This rare archaeological case exhibits erosion of dental enamel on the labial surface of all the anterior dentition. A programme of historical research suggests that this might be attributed to the application of an acid-based dental tincture or the use of an abrasive substance to whiten the teeth. Palliative treatment for the consequence of this application was prescribed by Dr Robert Blake of Dublin. Further, it bears witness to three dental restorations, two of gold and one tin. The two gold (foil) fillings are an occlusal in the upper-right second molar and a cervical on the labial surface of the upper left canine. The tin filling is an occlusal in the upper left second molar. Excavation of the carious tissue appears to have been undertaken using a spoon shaped implement.

An Original Case of Tin Dental Fillings from 18th Century Northern France

“…The location of the burial site for individual S.732 suggests that he was a member of the upper socio-economic class in the St. Amé population, like the few cases already described (Whittaker and Hargreaves, 1991;Cox et al, 2000). No trace of dentists operating in Douai has been found in the Collegiate Church archives.…”

“…According to the World Health Organization, oral diseases, in conjunction with changes in modern nutrition, have become a blight that qualifies as a major public health problem (WHO, 2003). To combat dental diseases, the field of dentistry has attempted, since the 18th century, to use various therapeutic solutions-implanting dental prostheses (Romagnioli, 1988;Powers, 2006), or drilling (Valentin and Granat, 1997), and using a range of materials-to fill cavities and prevent further destruction of teeth (Whittaker and Hargreaves, 1991;Cox et al, 2000). The first evidence of such practices has been found as early as the Neolithic era (7500-9000 BP [years Before the Present]) (Coppa et al, 2006).…”

Progress of Nanomaterials in Preventative and Restorative Dentistry

“…To this end several nanomaterials have been included in a variety of oral health-care products such as toothpastes, mouth pastes and liquids in recent years [150]. While the objective of restorative dentistry is to use dental materials to replace tooth structure or oral (gingivae and bone) tissues resulting from disease processes, and to restore physical and mechanical functioning of the oral cavity [151,152]. The inclusion of nanomaterials in both preventative and restorative dental procedures in the future is expected to improve oral health and benefit across the life-span of the patients.…”

Dentistry and the British Army: 1661 to 1921

“…Dental examinations of eighteenth century remains in Britain appear in the literature; however, the numbers reported are small with an emphasis on evidence for operative work and prosthetics. 17,18,19 There are no large-scale data sets detailing the prevalence of caries in eighteenth century British populations. From the work of Moore and Corbett on their seventeenth and nineteenth century data, it seems reasonable to postulate that the prevalence of caries in British populations maintained its upward trend from the levels of the seventeenth century to those of the early nineteenth century.…”