The World in One Mouth: George Washington, Dental History, and the Atlantic Tooth Trade - Lucy Smith, ABD

Dr. Lynn Price Robbins and Isaac S. Loftus are joined by Lucy Smith to explore the history of dentistry and the evolving meanings that humans have projected onto this part of the body. How were teeth extracted before dentists—and before Novocain? When did “perfect” teeth become so important? And what in the world were George Washington’s dentures made of, if not wood? Please support this podcast by checking out our patreon: www.patreon.com/primarysourcemedia TRANSCRIPT: coming soon  OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introductions 3:23 - Why Teeth? 5:20 - Were George Washington’s Teeth Wood? 9:52 - The Concerns Around Tooth Aches 11:18 - Have People Always Felt This Way About Teeth? 18:21 - Dental Care Before Dentists 25:27 - Anesthetic? 27:18 - When Did Teeth Start to Matter? 32:22 - Teeth and Being a Good American 37:49 - Losing Teeth 39:46 - What Were The Dentures Made of? 45:39 - Where Were All the Teeth Coming From? 1:00:00 - Historic Sites to Visit 1:03:55 - Where You can Find Lucy EPISODE LINKS: University of Michigan graduate history department – https://lsa.umich.edu/history/graduates/lucy-smith--st--louis--mo.html Contact information – https://lsa.umich.edu/history/people/graduate-students/lksmit.html Michael Twitty – https://afroculinaria.com/about/ George Washington’s dentures – https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/health/washingtons-teeth Caravaggio, The Tooth-Drawer – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio,_Michelangelo_Merisi_da_-_The_Tooth-Drawer-_1607-09.jpg Josiah Wedgewood – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Josiah-Wedgwood Ivory Waterloo teeth – https://www.vanleestantiques.com/product/ivory-artificial-waterloo-teeth-c-1800/ False Teeth – https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/false-teeth John Greenwood – https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/john-greenwood-1760-1819 A Famine of Cadavers episode – https://open.spotify.com/episode/4yF0H8gf2tn3IvJRXQtO3D?si=6d2ccb7338624caa National Dentistry Museum – https://www.dentalmuseum.com Brown Bag Lunch featuring Library Fellow Lucy Smith - https://www.youtube.com/live/X7F_3l0o_fQ?si=bjIia_ZuqvoT12V6 Lunch and Learn: Mouth to Mouth: The Tooth Trade in Washington’s World – https://youtu.be/lfyyQ43Z5Cw?si=HaK4zUAWgoSVKnnK The Object of History Podcast episode: “Holding the Atlantic World in his Mouth”: George Washington, an MHS Portrait, and the Culture of Teeth in the 18th Century – https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-1-washingtons-teeth The Costs of an All-American Smile – https://rackham.umich.edu/discover-rackham/allamericansmile/ PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: 2c4hpod.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2-complicated-4-history/id1664183536 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3svQpZfxhVQnYJMESpp842?si=514780ada34d4aab Full episodes playlist:    https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX2x56DEw1y7EYWxfufgfSR951RrdsXet&si=TuDcpAjaeQx-vjkH SOCIAL: - Twitter: https://twitter.com/2c4h_Podcast - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2c4hPodcast - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2c4h_podcast To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices