January 2002, Vol 92, No. 1 | American Journal of Public Health 35
© 2002 American Public Health Association
The Tooth Puller [L'arracheur de dents]
Elizabeth Fee,
Theodore M. Brown,
Jan Lazarus and
Paul Theerman
Elizabeth Fee, Jan Lazarus, and Paul Theerman are with the History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. Theodore M. Brown is with the Departments of History and of Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Elizabeth Fee, PhD, Building 38, Room 1E21, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894 (e-mail: elizabeth_fee{at}nlm. nih.gov).
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INTRODUCTION
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FROM THE MIDDLE AGES through the early 19th century, tooth pulling was often performance art. Barber-surgeons cut hair, set bones, let blood, and pulled teeth. Toothache could be treated with leeches, blistering, cupping, and laxatives, as well as with prescriptions of lizard liver, green frogs, and a urine gargle.1 Opium mixtures were popular painkillers.
When refined sugar became widely available in the 17th century, dental caries became common. For more desperate sufferers, itinerant tooth pullers set up shop in marketplaces and at fairs. The "dentist" and his assistants attracted a crowd by telling stories, singing and dancing, performing tricks, or juggling. The tooth puller's assistant was usually dressed as a clown or a harlequin, with a pointed hat on which was inscribed the insignia of Saint Apollonia, the patron saint of toothache sufferers.
In more elaborate cases, such as the one depicted in this image from late 18th-century France, the tooth puller (arracheur de dents) had a stage as well as 2 assistants. The music that they provided attracted the crowd and also helped to drown out the cries of the patient. The tooth extraction was an essential part of the entertainment. The public setting provided considerable drama and let the gathered crowd judge the skill of the "dentist." If he were smooth enough—if he could extract teeth without causing too much pain—others might volunteer as patients.
Many artists tried to capture the pomp, pageantry, and pain of early dentistry. This etching was created by Jean Duplessis-Bertaux (1747–1819), a well-known artist and engraver who chronicled many scenes of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era.
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Source. Prints and Photographs Collection, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine.
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Footnotes
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Note. Most of the Prints and Photographs Collection of the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine may be viewed through its on-line database "Images from the History of Medicine" at http://wwwihm.nlm.nih.gov. The Web site also provides information on ordering reproductions of images. If you have a print, photograph, or other visual item that might be appropriate for this collection, please contact the History of Medicine Division.
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Reference
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1.
Wynbrandt J. The Excruciating History of Dentistry: Toothsome Tales and Oral Oddities From Babylon to Braces. New York, NY; St Martin's Press; 1998.
Copyright © 2002 by the American Public Health Association
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