Object of Intrigue
The Real Story Behind George Washington's Dentures
Contrary to popular myth, George Washington did not have wooden teeth. Instead, he had several sets of dentures. One particular set was designed by his dentist, John Greenwood, who worked in New York City in the late 18th-century. The dentures were made of hippopotamus ivory, inlaid with six real human teeth, and had a hole at the end that slipped over Washington’s last tooth. That tooth ended up enshrined in a locket that the New York Academy of Medicine possesses today.
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