Chapter XII: of the seventh book is, of all the work of Celsus, the (1)

one which presents to us the greatest interest, since there the author treats of the surgical operations required by the diseases of the dental apparatus.

He first speaks of the looseness of the teeth, caused by the weakness of their roots, or by the flaccidity of the gums, and says that in these cases it is necessary to touch the gums lightly with a red-hot iron, then to smear them with honey and wash them with mulse, and later on to strengthen them by means of astringent substances.

“When a tooth aches, and it is thought well to extract it, because medicaments are of no use, the gum must be detached all around, and then the tooth must be shaken until it is well loosened, it being very dangerous to draw a firm tooth, as this may sometimes give rise to a dislocation of the lower jaw. And greater still is the danger in regard to the upper teeth, as this might cause a shock to the temples and eyes. After having well loosened the tooth, it must be pulled out by the fingers, if this is possible; or if not, with the forceps.”

Dental and surgical instruments represented in a funeral marble of the Lateran Museum, Rome.]

It is clear that this method of tooth drawing—so excessively cautious and timid—must have been very torturing to the poor patients. A thousand years and more after Celsus, Abulcasis still counsels the same exaggerated precautions, and says that the extraction of a tooth must not be performed in a rapid and violent way after the manner of the barbers. From this one may see that the operation spoken of was then very often performed by certain unprofessional persons, who, being very familiar with it, carried it out with great indifference and rapidity, thus sparing the patients the long-protracted martyrdom which the erudite doctors, followers of Celsus, thought necessary to make them endure. Very probably the same happened in the days of the wise Roman doctor.

When there is a large carious hollow in the tooth to be extracted, Celsus recommends that it should first be filled up either with lint or with lead, in order to prevent the tooth from breaking under the pressure of the instrument. “The latter,” he continues, “must be made to act in a straight direction, in order to avoid fracture of the bone. The danger of fracture is still greater in the case of short teeth; often the forceps, not being able to grasp the tooth well, takes hold of the bone with it and fractures the latter. When after the extraction of a tooth much blood flows from the wound, this indicates that some part of the bone has been broken. It is necessary then to search for the detached piece of bone with the probe and to extract it with the forceps. If this be not successful, an incision must be made in the gums just as large as is necessary for the extraction of the fragment. When this is not taken out, it often happens that the jaw swells in such a manner as to prevent the patient from opening his mouth. In such a case it is necessary to apply to the cheek a hot cataplasm of flour and figs, so as to induce suppuration, after which the gums must be lanced and the splinter of bone extracted.”

When the teeth show blackish stains, Celsus advises such stains to be scraped away, and the teeth afterward to be rubbed with a mixture of pounded rose leaves, gall-nuts, and myrrh, and the mouth to be frequently washed with pure wine. It is necessary besides, says the author, to keep the head well covered, to walk a great deal, and to partake of no acid food.

“If by effect of a blow or other accident some of the teeth become loose, it is necessary to bind them with gold wire to the neighboring firm teeth, and besides to keep in the mouth astringent substances, for example, wine in which the rind of pomegranates has been boiled, or into which some burning hot gall-nuts have been thrown.”

“When in a child a permanent tooth appears before the fall of the milk tooth, it is necessary to dissect the gum all around the latter and extract it; the other tooth must then be pushed with the finger, day by day, toward the place that was occupied by the one extracted; and this is to be done until it has firmly reached its right position.”

“Now and again it happens that when a tooth is pulled out its root remains in the socket; it is then necessary to extract it at once, with the forceps adapted for the purpose, called by the Greeks _rizagra_.”

The last book of the work of Celsus treats chiefly of fractures and dislocations. In the first chapter the position and form of the bones of the whole human body are described, although not very exactly. Speaking of the teeth, the author says: “The teeth are harder than the bones, and are fixed, some on the _maxilla_ (lower jaw) and some on the overhanging bone of the cheeks.”[126]

“The first four teeth, being cutting teeth (incisors), are called by the Greeks _tomici_. These are flanked on both sides by one canine. Beyond this there ordinarily exist, on both sides, five grinders, except in the case of those persons in whom the last molars, which commonly are cut very late, have not yet appeared. The incisors and the canines are fixed with one single root; but the molars at least with two, some even with three or four. In general, the shorter the tooth, so much the longer is its root. A straight tooth commonly has a straight root, a curved tooth has it generally curved. The root of a temporary tooth produces in children a new tooth, which usually pushes out the first; sometimes, however, the new tooth appears either above or below it.”

In the seventh chapter Celsus treats of fractures in general, but in particular of those of the lower jaw.

“To reduce a fracture of this bone, it should be pressed in a proper manner, from the inside of the mouth and from the outside, with the forefinger and thumb of both hands. Then in the case of a transverse fracture (in which case generally an unevenness in the level of the teeth is produced), it is necessary, after having set the fragments in place, to tie together the two teeth nearest to the fracture with a silk thread, or else, if these are loose, the following ones. After this, one should apply externally, on the part corresponding to the lesion, a thick compress, dipped in wine and oil and sprinkled with flour and powdered olibanum. This compress is to be fixed by a bandage or by a strip of soft leather, with a longitudinal slit in the middle to embrace the chin, the two ends being tied together above the head. The patient must fast the first two days; then he may be nourished with liquid food, but in small quantities, abstaining, however, completely from wine. On the third day it is necessary to take off the apparatus, and after having fomented the part with the steam of hot water, to replace it. The same is to be done on the fifth day, and so on, until the inflammation has subsided, which generally happens from the seventh to the ninth day. After the symptoms of inflammation have vanished, the patient may take abundant nourishment; he must, however, abstain from chewing until the fracture is completely consolidated; and, therefore, he will continue to nourish himself with soups and like food. He must also entirely abstain from speaking, especially during the first few days. Fractures of the jaw commonly heal from the fourteenth to the twenty-first day.

“In luxations of the jaw (Chapter XII) the bone is always displaced forward; but sometimes only on one side, and sometimes on both sides. When the dislocation is only on one side, the chin and the whole jaw are found deviated toward the part opposite to the luxation; and the similar teeth of the two dental arches do not correspond; but instead under the upper incisors will be found the canine tooth of the dislocated part. If, however, the luxation is bilateral, the chin inclines and projects forward; the lower teeth are farther in front than the upper ones, and the muscles of the temples are tightly stretched. The reduction of the luxation must be performed as quickly as possible. The patient having been made to sit down, an assistant holds the head firmly from behind; or else the patient is made to sit with his shoulders against a wall, with a hard cushion between this and his head, whilst the assistant holds the head against the cushion, and so keeps it steady. Then the operator, after wrapping his two thumbs in linen cloth or strips, that they may not slip, introduces them into the patient’s mouth and, applying the other fingers on the outside, firmly grasps the jaw. Then whilst lowering the back part of the latter, he shakes the chin and pushes it upward and backward, seeking to shut the mouth, and in this way making the jaw return to its natural position.

“The bone having been replaced, if the accident should have given rise to pains in the eyes and neck, it will be well to draw blood from the arm. After the luxation has been reduced, the patient must be nourished for some time on liquid food, and abstain, as much as possible, from speaking.”

CAIUS PLINIUS SECUNDUS. After Celsus, a very celebrated writer on medicine and natural science was Caius Plinius Secundus. He was born at Como in the year 23 of the Christian era, and flourished from the days of Nero to those of Vespasian. Endowed with a liberal education, he gave himself up to public life, filling many important posts, among which, that of Governor of Spain under Nero and his successors. In the year 79 after Christ, while he was in command of the Roman fleet at Misenum, the tremendous eruption of Vesuvius took place, by which Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other neighboring cities were destroyed. Pliny, driven by the desire to study that marvellous and awful natural phenomenon, betook himself to Stabia, but was there suffocated by the ashes and smoke erupted by Vesuvius.

In spite of the many places occupied by him, Pliny found time to write many works, and among these the thirty-seven books on _Natural History_, which have given him eternal fame.

It is not at all to be wondered at that this immense work contains a great number of fables, superstitions, and errors of every kind. To sift the true from the false was not an easy thing, at a time when there was almost no idea as to how natural phenomena were produced, and when all scientific criticism was impossible, for the very simple reason that true science did not exist.

To give an idea of the great absurdities which were believed in at that epoch, and which were considered possible even by higher intellects such as Pliny’s, the following passages will suffice: “In many mountains of India, according to what Ctesia writes, there are men with dogs’ heads, who clothe themselves with the skins of wild beasts and bark instead of speaking. There are also a kind of men having only one leg, and who have great speed in leaping. Others are without any neck and have their eyes between their shoulders. Megasthenes writes that among the nomad Indians are men who instead of a nose have only holes, and have their legs bent like serpents. At the extreme confines of India, toward the East, are men without any mouth and with their bodies entirely covered with hair, who live on nothing but air and odors, which they inhale through the nose.”[127]

In Pliny’s day the most prodigious virtues were attributed to herbs; in regard to this the following example is sufficient:

“The herb near which dogs may have made water, when gathered, but without being touched by iron, cures luxations very promptly.”[128]

It must not be thought that Pliny accepted such beliefs without reserve. He notes them, because preceding authors had accepted them, and because if certain things appear to us evidently absurd, their absurdity could not be equally evident at a period when little more than nothing was known in regard to physical and physiological laws, and when the impossibility of rationally explaining natural effects led men to admit the existence of marvellous virtues and influences in every being and in all bodies. On the other hand, Pliny expressly says, for his own justification, in Chapter I of Book VII: “I do not want to bind my faith in many things which I am about to say; but rather refer the readers to the authors from whom I have taken them.”

As is to be expected, we find in Pliny’s works, in regard to teeth, a strange mixture of truth and errors.

In Chapter XV of Book VII, after having said that some children are born with teeth, and after having cited, as examples, Manius Curius, who was therefore called Dentatus, and Gnæus Papirius Carbo, both illustrious men, he adds:

“In women such a thing was considered a bad augury in the days of the kings. In fact, Valeria having been born with teeth, the seers said that she would be the ruin of the city to which she would be taken; she was sent to Suessa Pometia, which in those days was a very flourishing city; and, in fact, the prediction was verified. Some, instead of teeth, have an entire bone; of this there was an example in the son of Prusias, King of Bithynia, who instead of upper teeth had one single bone.”

“The teeth alone are not consumed by fire, and do not burn with the rest of the body. And yet these teeth, which withstand the flames, are worn away and hollowed out by pituita. They wear out by being used. Nor are they necessary for mastication alone, for the foremost ones regulate the voice and words, producing by the beat of the tongue special sounds.”

“Men have thirty-two teeth, women a lesser number. It is, however, believed that augury may be taken from the teeth; and to have a greater number than usual is considered an indication of long life. The presence of two eye teeth at the right side of the upper jaw presages favorable fortune, as was verified in Agrippina, the mother of Domitius Nero; on the left side, however, they are of sad foreboding.”

“The last teeth, which are called the genuine teeth, appear toward the twentieth year of age; many persons, however, do not have them until their eightieth year. Teeth fall out in old age and then spring up again; of this there can be no doubt. Mutianus writes of having known a certain Zancle of Samothracia, in whom teeth reappeared after he had completed his one hundred and fourth year. Timarcus, son of Nicocles of Paphus, had two rows of molar teeth, whilst a brother of his did not change his incisor teeth at all, which, therefore, wore down little by little. There once lived a man who had a tooth in his palate. The canine teeth, when by any chance they fall out, do not reappear any more.”[129]

“In the teeth of man there exists a poisonous substance which has the effect of dimming the brightness of a looking-glass when they are presented uncovered before it; and if they are uncovered in front of young unfledged pigeons, these take ill and die.”[130]

The second of these two statements is but a prejudice, like many others; but we find the first very strange indeed, it being a surprising thing that a man like Pliny should have attributed to an imaginary poison of the teeth what is the simple effect of the moistures of the breath.

In Chapters CXV and CXVII of Book XI are found some observations which are somewhat interesting to us:

“A man’s breath becomes infected by the bad quality of food, by the bad state of the teeth, and still more by old age.”

“Simple food is very beneficial to man; the variety of flavors instead is very harmful. Sour or too abundant foods are digested with difficulty, and also those which are ravenously swallowed. As a remedy, vomiting has come into use; but it makes the body cold and is most pernicious to the eyes and to the teeth.”

There is no doubt that the habit of often provoking vomitus—which, in those times of excessive corruption and intemperance, had come into general use—must have resulted in enormous harm to the teeth, especially by the action exercised upon them by the hydrochloric acid contained in the gastric juice, and by the organic acids of fermentation.

Among the vegetable remedies in those times considered of use against odontalgia, the principal ones are mentioned in Chapter CV of Book XXV:

“It is beneficial against toothache to chew the root of panax, and likewise to wash the teeth with its juice. It is also useful to chew the root of hyoscyamus soaked in vinegar, or else that of the polemonium. It is also beneficial to chew the roots of the plantain, or to wash the teeth in a decoction of plantain in vinegar. A decoction of the leaves is also useful, not only in the case of simple toothache, but also when the gums are tender and easily bleed. The seed of the same plant cures inflammations and abscesses of the gums. The aristolochia strengthens the gums and the teeth. The same effect may be produced by masticating the verbena with its root, or by washing the mouth with a decoction of it in wine or vinegar. Similarly the roots of the cinquefoil are helpful when boiled down to a third, in wine or vinegar; however, they must first be washed in salt water or brine. The decoction must be kept for a long time in the mouth.

“Instead of using the decoction of cinquefoil, some prefer to rub the loose teeth with the ashes of this plant. Besides the above-mentioned remedies, the root of the verbascum boiled in wine, hyssop, and the juice of the peucedanum with opium are also employed; and it is also beneficial to pour into the nostrils, on the side opposite to that of the sick tooth, some drops of the juice of anagallis.

“It is said that if senecio be taken from the earth, and the aching tooth be touched three times with it, spitting alternatively three times, and then the herb be replanted in the same spot, so that it may continue to live, the tooth will never give pain any more.”[131]

“In the fuller’s thistle,[132] an herb which grows near rivers, is found a small worm, which has the power of curing dental pains, when the said worm is killed by rubbing it on the teeth, or when it is closed up with wax in the hollow teeth.”[133]

“Apollonius writes that a very efficacious remedy for pains in the gums is to scratch them with the tooth of a man who has suffered a violent death.”[134]

“It is considered very beneficial for toothache to bite off a piece from wood which has been struck by lightning, and to touch the sick tooth with it; but whilst biting off the little piece of wood, it is necessary to keep both hands behind the back.”[135]

“Experience teaches that against the bad odor of the breath it is useful to wash the mouth with pure wine before sleeping, and that to avoid aching of the teeth, it is a good thing to rinse the mouth, in the morning, with several mouthfuls of fresh water, but of an odd number.”[136]

“A remedy for toothache is to touch the diseased teeth with the tooth of a hyena,[137] or to scratch the gums with the tooth of a hippopotamus which has been taken from the left side of the jaw.”[138]

“The ashes of stag’s horn, rubbed over loose and aching teeth, makes them firm and soothes the pain. Some consider that to produce the same effect, of greater virtue is the powder of the horn, unburnt. Both the ashes and the powder of stag’s horn are employed as a dentifrice. The ashes of the head of a wolf are a great remedy for toothache. Such pains are also made to cease by wearing certain bones that are oftentimes found in the dung of this animal. The ashes of the head of a hare is a useful dentifrice; and if spikenard be added, it will lessen the bad smell of the mouth. Some mix with it the ashes of the heads of mice. In the side of the hare is a bone as sharp as a needle; and many advise pricking the teeth with this when they ache. The heel of the ox kindled and brought close to loose teeth makes them firm. The ashes of this bone mingled with myrrh is a good dentifrice. A good dentifrice is also made from the ashes of the feet of a goat. To strengthen teeth loosened by a blow, asses’ milk or the ashes of the teeth of this animal are very useful. In the heart of the horse there is a bone like an eye-tooth; it is said that it is very beneficial to pick with it the teeth that ache. The carpenter’s glue boiled in water and plastered on to the teeth also takes away their pain; but soon after it must be taken away and the mouth rinsed with wine in which have been boiled the rinds of sweet pomegranates. It is also thought beneficial to wash the teeth with goat’s milk or with ox-gall.”[139]

“Butter, either alone or with honey, is very useful for children; and is very helpful, especially during dentition, in the diseases of the gums, and to cure the ulcers of the mouth. To prevent the disorders that generally accompany dentition, it is a useful thing that the child should wear a wolf’s tooth, or one of the first teeth lost by a horse. The rubbing of the gums with goat’s milk or with hare’s brain renders the cutting of teeth much easier.”[140]

“To sweeten the breath it is very helpful to rub the teeth and the gums with wool and honey.”[141]

“The filth of the tail of sheep rolled up in little balls, and left to dry and then reduced to powder and rubbed on the teeth, is marvellously useful against the loosening and other diseases of the teeth themselves and against the cankerous ulcers of the gums.”[142]

“Eggshells deprived of their internal membrane and afterward burnt afford a good dentifrice.”[143] (Hence we see that the use of carbonate of lime as a dentifrice is a very ancient one.)

“If the head of a dog that has died mad be burnt, the ashes obtained may be advantageously used against toothache, mixing it with cyprine oil and then dropping the mixture into the ear, on the side of the pain. It is beneficial also to pick the sick tooth with the longest tooth, on the left side, of a dog; or with the frontal bones of a lizard, taken from the head of the animal at full moon, and which have not touched the earth. The teeth of a dog, boiled in wine until this is reduced to one-half, thus, furnish a mouth wash which can be advantageously used against toothache. In the cases of difficult dentition, benefit is derived by rubbing the gums with the ashes of the teeth of a dog, mixed with honey. Such ashes are also used as a dentifrice. In hollow teeth it is useful to introduce the ashes of the dung of mice, or of the dried liver of lizards. It is the opinion of some, that in order not to be subject to toothache, a mouse should be eaten twice a month. If earth-worms be cooked in oil, this latter has the virtue of calming toothache when dropped into the ear on the side of the pain. The same effect is obtained by rubbing the teeth with the ashes of the aforesaid worms, after they have been burnt in a terra-cotta vase; and if such ashes be introduced into the hollow teeth, these fall out very easily. A good remedy against toothache is to wash the mouth with vinegar of squills in which earth-worms and the root of the mulberry have been boiled. The ashes of the shells of snails mixed with myrrh, rubbed on the gums, strengthens them. Even the slough which the snakes cast off in spring can furnish a remedy against toothache. For this purpose it must be boiled in oil, with the addition of resin of the larch, and then the oil dropped into the ear. For the same purpose, according to some, oil of roses is useful, when a spider, caught with the left hand, has been pounded in it. If a sparrow’s fledglings be burnt with dry vine twigs, the resulting ashes rubbed with vinegar on the teeth makes all pain cease in them.[144] It is stated by many that to improve the odor of the breath, it is well to rub the teeth with ashes of mice mixed with honey. Some also mingle with this the root of fennel. Picking the teeth with the quill of a vulture renders the breath sour. It makes the teeth firm to pick them with a porcupine’s quill. A decoction of swallows in wine sweetened with honey cures ulcers of the tongue and lips. Scaldings in the mouth produced by hot food or drinks are readily healed with the milk of a bitch.”[145]

That Pliny did not put great faith in many of the things which he relates is clearly proved by several passages of his book, and among others by the following:

“One can hardly relate without laughing, some things, which, however, I will not omit, because they are found already written. They say that the ox has a small stone in the head, which it spits out when it fears death; but if its head be suddenly cut off, and the stone extracted, this, worn by a child, helps it in wondrous manner to cut its teeth.”[146]

In Book XXXI, Pliny speaks of various waters—mineral, thermal, etc.—especially from the medical point of view. It was already known in those days that those waters were most active agents. And in this respect a fact which the author relates in Chapter VI of Book XXV is worth mentioning:

“When Caesar Germanicus moved his camp beyond the Rhine, there was found, in the whole maritime tract of the country, only one spring of fresh water, the drinking of which, within two years, produced the fall of teeth and a loosening of the knee-joints. The doctors called these evils stomacace and scelotyrbe.”

Sea salt and nitre are of use, according to Pliny, against various maladies of the teeth and mouth. He counsels the application of salt on lint to the ulcers of the oral cavity, and to rub it on the gums when they are swollen. To prevent diseases of the teeth, it would be advantageous, every morning before breaking one’s fast, to keep a little salt under the tongue until it is dissolved. Against the pain of the teeth it would be beneficial to use common salt dissolved in vinegar, or nitre in wine.

“The rubbing of the blackened teeth with burnt nitre gives them back their natural color.”[147]

The prophylactic remedies against odontalgia believed in, at that period, were sufficiently numerous, and, among many other such things, Pliny informs us that in order not to be subject to toothache, it is sufficient to wash the mouth three times a year with the blood of the tortoise.[148] Analogous virtue was also attributed to the brain of the shark, which was boiled in oil, and this put by for washing the teeth with once a year.

Besides the many anti-odontalgic remedies so far related, several others are found enumerated in Chapter XXVI of Book XXXII:

“The pain in the teeth is lessened by picking the gums with the bones of the sea dragon. It is also very beneficial to pick the gums with the sharp bone of the puffin.[149] If the same be pounded together with white hellebore, and the mixture thus obtained be rubbed on the diseased teeth, they may be made to fall out without pain. The ashes, also, of salt fish burnt in an earthen vase, with the addition of powdered marble, is a remedy against toothache. Frogs are also boiled in a hemina[150] of vinegar, the decoction being then used to wash the teeth with; but this, however, must be kept in the mouth for some length of time. In order to render this remedy less nauseous, Sallustius Dionisius used to hang several frogs, by their hind feet, over a vase in which he boiled the vinegar, so that the juices of the animals might drip into this from their mouths. To make loose teeth firm, some advise the soaking of two frogs, after having cut off their feet, in a hemina of wine, and the washing of the mouth with the latter. Others tie them, whole, on the jaws. Some, to strengthen unsteady teeth, rinse them with a decoction made by boiling ten frogs in three sextaries[151] of vinegar, until the liquor is reduced to one-third. By others, thirty-six hearts of frogs are well boiled in a sextary of old oil, in a copper vessel, and the oil is then used against toothache, dropping it into the ear, on the side of the pain. Some, after having boiled the liver of a frog, pound it with honey, and smear it on the sore teeth. If the teeth are decayed and fetid, many counsel the drying of a hundred frogs in an oven, leaving them there for one night, then the addition of an equal weight of salt, reducing the whole to powder, and rubbing the teeth with it. In such cases the ashes of crabs are also used. That of the murex[152] is adopted as a simple dentifrice.”

“The cutting of teeth is facilitated by rubbing the gums of the child with the ashes of dolphin’s teeth mixed with honey, or even simply by touching the gums with a tooth of this animal.”[153]

In Chapter XXXIV of Book XXXVI it is said that the decoction of gagates[154] in wine cures the diseases of the teeth; and in Chapter XLII of the same book are praised the dentifrice powders made of pumice stone.

From the examination of Pliny’s work several important facts come out.

The diseases of the teeth were, in those days, most common; very often we find mention of loose teeth, and the medicines suited to make them firm again; from which we may deduce the great frequency of alveolar pyorrhea. It is reasonable to think that such a fact was caused principally by the intemperate life of those times, in which the followers of Epicurus were extremely numerous and the unbridled desire for pleasure reached such a degree that no abhorrence was felt of provoking vomit during the course of a long banquet, in order to continue dining merrily.

Concerning the teeth, their affections, and the means of healing and preventing them, the strangest superstitions existed, and this not only among the common, but also among educated and learned people. The number of remedies reputed useful against diseases of the teeth was extraordinarily great; but the modern saying, “therapeutic wealth is poverty,” could have been applied only too well.

Of the cleanliness of the teeth, it seems, great care was taken, for dentifrices were in great use. These, as we have already seen, were made of the most varied substances—stag’s horn burnt, ashes obtained by burning the head of the mouse, of the hare, of the wolf, etc., eggshells burnt and reduced to powder, pumice stone, and so on. For the cleanliness of the mouth, for strengthening the teeth and gums, mouth washes of sundry kinds were likewise adopted, especially formed of decoctions of astringent substances in water, wine, and vinegar.

Not only among the Romans was great care given to the cleanliness and beauty of the teeth, but also among many other nations. In this regard the following poem of Catullus, in which he lashes the silly vanity of a Celtiberian resident in Rome, who made continual show of his white teeth, is somewhat interesting:

“Egnatius, quod candidos habet dentes
Renidet usquequaque; seu ad rei ventum est
Subsellium, cum orator excitat fletum,
Renidet ille: seu pii ad rogum filii
Lugetur, orba cum flet unicum mater,
Renidet ille; quidquid est, ubicumque est,
Quodcumque agit, renidet: hunc habet morbum,
Neque elegantem, ut arbitror, neque urbanum.
Quare monendus es mihi, bone Egnati,
Si Urbanus esses, aut Sabinus, aut Tiburs,
Aut parcus Umber, aut obesus Hetruscus,
Aut Lanuvinus ater, atque dentatus,
Aut Transpadanus, ut meos quoque attingam,
Aut quilibet, qui puriter lavit dentes:
Tamen renidere usquequaque te nollem;
Nam risu inepto res ineptior nulla est.
Nunc, Celtiber, in celtiberia terra
Quod quisque minxit, hoc solet sibi mane
Dentem, atque russam defricare gingivam.
Ut quo iste vester expolitior dens est,
Hoc te amplius bibisse prædicet lotii.”[155]

STRABO. From Strabo we learn that the Cantabri and other peoples of Spain used to clean their teeth and sometimes even to wash their face not with fresh, but with old urine, which, so it seems, was kept for the purpose, in suitable cisterns![156]

In regard to this filthy custom, Joseph Linderer says[157] that the superstition has reached even to our times, although not widely diffused, that, to beautify the face, it is useful to wash it with urine. He relates that he knew a girl who, to become beautiful, had recourse to this heroic method, but, unfortunately, without at all obtaining the desired end!

MARTIAL. In the epigrams of Martial (about 40 to 101 A.D.) allusions of great value with regard to several points concerning the subject we are treating of are found.

Toothpicks (_dentiscalpia_) are mentioned by this poet several times; from which we may argue that they were in great use. They were ordinarily made of lentisk wood (_Pistacia lentiscus_), as may be deduced from the Epigram LXXIV of Book VI, in which the author ridicules the old dandy who, stretched at length on the triclinium, cleans with _lentiski_ the toothless mouth, to give himself the air of a man not too far stricken in years.[158] Besides, in Book XIV, containing, for the greater part, saws and sayings on objects of common use, there is an epigram bearing the title of “Dentiscalpium,” in which the author says that toothpicks of lentisk are to be preferred, but that, in their absence, quill toothpicks may be used.[159]

An ancient toothpick and ear-picker of gold, found in Crimea.]

From other sources we learn that in those days metal toothpicks were also made use of. So in a satire of Petronius, it is said that Trimalchiones made use of a silver toothpick (_spina argentea_). Objects of this kind, both Roman and of other origin, are even now in existence, and may be found in various collections of antiquities. In Crimea a most elegant gold object, of Greek make, was found, which is, by its two ends, both a toothpick and an ear-picker. It belongs most probably to the fourth century before Christ.[160]

In an object found in the north of Switzerland, and coming from a Roman military colony of the times of the Empire, the toothpick and ear-picker are joined at one of their ends, by a pivot, to other toilet articles.[161]

A metal toothpick and ear-picker joined to other toilet articles. An object found in Switzerland, in the ancient seat of a Roman military colony.]

An ancient toothpick and ear-picker of bronze, found in the north of France, at Bavai (the ancient Bagacum).]

Caylus, in his valuable work _Recueil d’antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques, romaines et gauloises_ (Paris, 1752 to 1767), gives the picture of a toothpick and ear-picker of bronze, two inches long, with the middle part wrought in spiral form, so as to increase the solidity of the article, and also to enable the hand to keep it easily firm in all positions. It was found in the north of France, at Bavai (the ancient Bagacum), and forms part of the collection of M. Mignon of Douai.[162]

Martial is one of the first Roman writers who speak clearly of artificial teeth. In Epigram LVI of Book XIV, the poet, by a bold personification, makes the dentifrice powder say to a toothless old woman, furnished with false teeth: “What have you got to do with me? Let a girl use me. I am not accustomed to clean bought teeth.”[163]

Elsewhere[164] Martial atrociously derides a courtesan, who, among her other physical defects, was also without an eye: “Without any shame thou usest purchased locks of hair and teeth. Whatever will you do for the eye, Laelia? These are not to be bought!”[165]

This epigram shows that, while dental prosthesis was already in use, ocular prosthesis did not as yet exist.

To a plagiarist, who passed off Martial’s poetry as his own, the latter says: “With our verses, O Fidentinus, dost thou think thyself and desire to be thought a poet. Even so, it seems to Ægle that she has all her teeth, because of her false teeth of bone and ivory.”[166]

There is, therefore, not the least doubt that in the days of Martial artificial teeth were in use; and that these, as may be seen from the epigram just now quoted, were made of ivory and bone; we do not know whether they were formed also of other substances. The question, however, arises: In those times did they manufacture movable artificial sets, or was the dental art then limited to fixing the artificial teeth unmovably to the neighboring firm teeth, by means of silk threads, gold wire, and the like? The answer to this question may be found in another epigram of Martial,[167] where the latter ridicules a wanton old woman, telling her, among other things still worse, that she at night lays down her teeth just as she does the silken robes.[168]

It is, therefore, beyond all doubt that, at that period, the manner of constructing movable artificial sets was known; and most probably not only partial pieces were made, but even full sets. In fact, from the verse quoted above we have justly the impression that the poet means a whole set rather than a few teeth.

From the words of Martial, it may also be concluded that these dentures could be put on and off with the greatest ease; or, as we may say, by a maneuver as simple as that of removing any articles of apparel; they must, therefore, have been extremely well constructed.

This alone should be sufficient, even were further proof wanting, to give us an idea of the degree of development and of the point of perfection reached by dental prosthesis at that time. But besides this, we now also possess an ancient Roman piece furnishing a palpable proof of the ability and ingenuity of the dentists of that epoch. Some few years since, I had occasion, in the pursuit of dental archæological research, to visit the Museum of Pope Julius in Rome, where I was shown a prosthetic piece, not yet exhibited to the general public, that had been discovered a few months previous in excavating at Satricum, near Rome. I was invited to give an opinion as to this appliance, and, after having examined it accurately, became aware, not without some emotion, I am fain to confess, that I held in my hands a prosthetic piece of exceptional historical importance, that is, no less than a specimen of ancient _crown work_.

Roman appliance found at Satricum; crown of lower incisor made of gold.]

The same, seen from below.]

The appliance found at Satricum (Fig. 31) is made in the following manner: Two small plates of gold, stamped out, represent respectively the lingual and labial superficies of a middle lower incisor; these two pieces soldered together form the crown of the tooth. At its base the crown is soldered, back and front, to a narrow strip of gold which folds back on itself at each end, so as to tightly encircle the two neighboring teeth on the right and on the left, which thus serve as supports to the appliance.

We are now, therefore, able not only to affirm that the Etruscans knew how to execute a kind of _bridge work_, but that later the dentists of ancient Rome even carried out _crown work_.

This, notwithstanding the examples of dental prosthesis discovered up to now in Roman and Etruscan tombs, can in no way be considered as representing all the varieties of dental prosthesis of ancient construction. It is to be hoped that, in spite of the destructive action of time, in continuing the excavations and archæological researches, many other specimens of early dental prosthesis will yet come to light. In any case, judging by some indications to be found in Latin literature, it must be admitted that the Roman dentists of antiquity constructed other kinds of prosthesis besides the specimens we possess, and in particular movable dentures. We are led to suppose this, not only from the above cited epigram of Martial, but also from what we read in one of the satires of Horace, who dates contemporarily with Augustus, and therefore anteriorly to Martial. Speaking of two old witches who had been put to flight by Priapus, Horace writes: “You would have laughed to see those two old witches run toward the town, losing in their flight, Canidia, her false teeth, Sagania, her false hair.”[169]

Now, as Prof. Deneffe very rightly observes, the prosthetic appliances of antiquity known to us are so firmly fixed to the natural teeth that no race, however unbridled, could ever have made them fall out of the mouth. It must, therefore, be admitted, as I have said, that the ancients constructed other kinds of dental appliances, of which no specimens have, as yet, been discovered.

Neither in Celsus nor in Pliny, nor in any other Roman writers on medicine, do we find any allusion to the art of dentistry. The doctors of those days probably had no idea of the advantages which could be derived from dental prosthesis in regard to digestion and consequently to the health of the whole body. They therefore must have considered artificial teeth as something totally foreign to their art, and intended solely to hide a physical defect. It is therefore not at all surprising that they have not treated of this subject.

As the art of setting artificial teeth was exercised by persons not belonging to the medical profession, it is very probable that these persons also undertook the extraction of teeth and the cure of dental pains. Martial (Book X, Epigram LVI) names a certain Cascellius, who, he says, “extracts or cures diseased teeth,”[170] and this is the first dentist whose name has been sent down to us. In spite of this, nothing permits us to affirm that there existed at that time a class of real dentists, viz., of persons dedicated to the exclusive cure of dental disease. There are strong reasons for doubting this, especially when we consider that the Latin language has no word corresponding to the word dentist. If there had existed a true dental profession, there ought also to have existed a name for indicating the individuals who exercised it. Therefore, it must be considered highly probable that, although there undoubtedly existed individuals who were especially skilled in the cure of the diseases of the teeth, such persons did not form a special class; perhaps, among those to whom recourse was had for the cure of dental diseases, some were doctors, particularly skilled in such diseases, others were perhaps barbers, and so forth. As to the far-fetched deductions of Geist-Jacobi, according to whom the name given to dentists by the Romans must have been that of _artifex dentium_ or _artifex medicus dentium_, these are founded, above all, on imagination. It is extremely improbable that such names existed, when one considers that they are not met with, even once, in the whole range of Latin literature.

SCRIBONIUS LARGUS. Among the writers on Medicine in the early period of the Empire, one of the most eminent was, without any doubt, Scribonius Largus, physician to the Emperor Claudius, whom he accompanied to England in the year 43.

Scribonius Largus, in his book _De compositione medicamentorum_, pronounces himself energetically against the division of Medicine into single special branches. He declaims against the many who attributed to themselves the name of doctors, simply because they knew how to cure some diseases. According to him, the true doctor must be skilled in curing all kinds of affections. This, in truth, was possible in those times, but would be almost impossible nowadays, on account of the enormous development of the healing art. The ideas, however, expressed by Scribonius Largus have a certain historical importance, for they show that in his times the medical art had certainly the tendency to split up into many special branches, among which there must certainly have been dentistry, but that the necessity of such separation was not by any means universally recognized; the great doctors of those days undertook the cure of the diseases of the teeth, as well as those of any other part of the body.

The tenth chapter of the book of Scribonius Largus treats of the cure of odontalgia. The author begins by saying that it is the opinion of many that the only true remedy against toothache is the forceps. With all this, he adds, there are many medicaments, from which great benefit may be derived against these pains, without it always being necessary to have recourse to extraction. Even when a tooth is affected with caries, says the author, it is not always advisable to extract it; but it is much better, in many cases, to cut away the diseased part with a scalpel adapted for the purpose.

“Violent toothache may be calmed in various ways, viz., with mouth washes, masticatories, fumigations, or by the direct application of fitting medicaments. It is beneficial to rinse the mouth frequently with a decoction of parietaria or of cypress berries, or to apply to the tooth the root or the seeds of the hyoscyamus wrapped up in a cloth, and dipped from time to time in boiling water, or to chew the portulaca (purslane), or to keep for some time its juice in the mouth.”

“Suitable also against toothache are fumigations made with the seeds of the hyoscyamus scattered on burning charcoal; these must be followed by rinsings of the mouth with hot water; in this way sometimes, as it were, small worms are expelled.”[171]

This passage of Scribonius Largus has given rise to the idea that the dental caries depends upon the presence of small worms, which eat away the substance of the tooth. Such an explanation must have well succeeded in satisfying the popular fancy; and it is for this that such a prejudice, although fought against by Jacques Houllier in the sixteenth century, has continued even to our days.

With regard to this I would like to record the following fact: Not many years ago there lived in Aversa, a small town near Naples, Italy, a certain Don Angelo Fontanella, a violin player, who professed himself to be the possessor of an infallible remedy against toothache. When summoned by the sufferer, he carried with him, in a bundle, a tile, a large iron plate, a funnel, a small curved tube adjustable to the apex of the funnel, a piece of bees’ wax, and a small packet of onion seed. Having placed the tile on a table, the iron plate was put upon it, after it had been heated red hot. Then the operator let a piece of bees’ wax fall upon the red-hot iron, together with a certain quantity of the onion seed; then, having promptly covered the whole with the funnel and made the patient approach, he brought the apex of the said funnel close to the sick tooth, in such a way as to cause the prodigious, if somewhat stinking, fumes produced by the combustion of the wax with the onion seed to act upon it. In the case of a lower tooth, the above-mentioned curved tube was adapted to the funnel, so that the fumes might equally reach the tooth. The remedy, for the most part, had a favorable result, whether because the beneficial effect was due to the action of the hot vapor on the diseased tooth, or to the active principles resulting from the combustion of the wax and onion seed, or to both, or perhaps also, at least in certain cases, to the suggestion that was thus brought to bear upon the sufferer. It would not be at all worth while to discuss here such a point. The interesting part is that when the patient had declared that he no longer felt the pain, Don Angelo, with a self-satisfied smile, turned the funnel upside down, and showed on its internal surface a quantity of what he pretended to be worms, which he affirmed had come out of the carious tooth. Great was the astonishment of the patient and of the bystanders, none of whom raised the least doubt as to the nature and origin of these small bodies, no one having the faintest suspicion even that these, instead of coming from the tooth, might come from the onion seed!

According to Scribonius Largus, toothache might also be taken away by fumigations of burnt bitumen. He affirms also that great benefit may be derived against odontalgia by masticating the wild mint, or the root of the pyrethrum, or by covering the diseased tooth with a plaster composed of peucedanum juice, opopanax, incense, and stoneless raisins. But before making use of this last remedy, he advises that the tooth and the gums near it should be fomented with very hot oil, by means of a toothpick or ear-picker wrapped around, at one end, with some wool. If the pain does not entirely cease, or comes on again, it is well, says the author, to continue the fomentations with hot oil, above the plaster, until the pain ceases. To strengthen loose teeth, Scribonius advises frequent rinsings of the mouth with asses’ milk or with wine in which have been cooked the roots of the sorrel until the liquid has boiled down to one-third. Another remedy which he recommends against looseness of the teeth is composed of honey and alum mixed together in a mortar, in the proportion of two parts of the first to one of the second, and then cooked in an earthen vase, so as to render the mixture more homogeneous, and to give it more consistency. He also speaks of a third medicament, resulting from cooking strong vinegar, alum, and cedria[172] in a copper vessel until it has the consistency of honey. This remedy would serve not only to make loose teeth firm, but the author assures us also that whoever rubs the teeth with it, three times a month, will never be subject to dental pains.

Scribonius Largus gives the receipts for various dentifrice powders in use at that period. The skin of the radish dried in the sun, pounded to powder, and then passed through a sieve, would furnish a good dentifrice, suited to strengthen the teeth and to keep them healthy. Very white glass, similar to crystal, reduced to a very fine powder and mixed with spikenard, is also, according to Scribonius Largus, a valuable dentifrice.

Octavia, sister of Augustus, used a powder which our author highly commends, saying that it strengthens the teeth and makes them very beautiful.[173] To prepare it, one must take a sextary[174] of barley flour and knead it well to a paste with vinegar and honey mixed together, and must divide the mass into six balls, each of which must be mixed with half an ounce of salt; these balls must then be cooked in the oven until carbonized; and lastly pounded to powder, as much spikenard being added as is necessary to give it an agreeable perfume.

Scribonius Largus also lets us know the tooth powder made use of by Messalina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius; this was composed of calcined stag’s horn, mastic of Chios, and sal ammoniac, mixed in the proportion of an ounce of mastic and an ounce and a half of sal ammoniac to a sextary of the ashes of stag’s horn.

SERVILIUS DAMOCRATES, a Greek physician, who acquired great renown in Rome toward the middle of the first century, was the author of many valuable works, both in verse and prose, which, unfortunately, have been lost. His works are mentioned by Galen, who testifies to his great esteem for Damocrates, calling him an eminent physician, and quoting various passages from his works, and among others three poetical receipts for dentifrice powders. From these receipts it appears that Damocrates attached the greatest importance to the cleanliness of the teeth, and that he considered this the indispensable condition for avoiding disease of the teeth and gums.