The tooth-worm: historical aspects of a popular medical belief

Abstract

The concept of a tooth-worm, which according to popular belief, caused caries and periodontitis, has existed in diverse cultures and across the ages. During the Enlightenment, however, the theory of the tooth-worm was assigned by medical doctors almost exclusively to superstition. Even so, the idea that toothache was caused by gnawing worms held on even into this century. There were many different ideas with regard to the appearance of tooth-worms. In England, for instance, it was thought that the tooth-worm looked like an eel. In Northern Germany, people supposed the tooth-worm to be red, blue, and gray and in many cases the worm was compared to a maggot. The gnawing worm was held responsible for many evils and, in particular, was blamed for toothache provoked by caries. The question is discussed of how the belief in the existence of the tooth-worm in former times can be explained. In popular medicine, numerous therapies were applied in order to eradicate the tooth-worm. In addition to the fumigations with henbane seeds, which allowed the "tooth-worm" to develop in the form of burst seeds, there were also magical formulas and oaths.

Principles of demineralization: Modern strategies for the isolation of organic frameworks

“…The belief that a worm developed in a bad tooth, started to pick upon the tooth structure immediately and then died as soon as it came into contact with air can be traced back to Paracelsus (1493-1541) (Gerabek, 1999).…”

“…The legend of the worm is also found in the writings of Homer, as well as the great surgeon of the middle ages, Guy de Chauliac (1300-1368 A.D.), who still espoused the belief that worms caused dental decay. The famous Flemish surgeon Jan Yperman (who died about 1330) claimed to have observed that the moving worms caused suppuration in the teeth (Gerabek, 1999).…”

Traditional phytotherapy and trans-cultural pharmacy among Turkish migrants living in Cologne, Germany

“…Very interestingly, and differently from other folk illnesses related to "worms" and described in the medical anthropological literature in Europe, which generally involve other body districts (tooth, hearth, fingers, hair: Grabner, 1963;Gerebek, 1999;Quave and Pieroni, 2005), in Turkey eyes are also thought to be affected by "worms".…”

Demineralized white spot lesions: An unmet challenge for orthodontists

“…1 With the 17th century came the age of enlightenment, during which many old beliefs, including the dental worm theory, were questioned. 4 The first person to reject this theory was Pierre Fauchard, who theorized that sugar was most likely responsible for dental caries. For this contribution he is now known as the father of modern dentistry.…”