Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1899-04-24

Hundreds of thousands of artificial
teeth are manufactured and sold every
year What becomes of them? 1t is like
asking what becomes of pins and other
things which are practically indestruc-
tible.
Before making a guess it is worth
while to consider how artificial teeth
are made. The story is told in Nan
tucket Of sea captain who was great
whistler until he lost one Of his front
teeth by accidental contact with be
laying pin For some time he bemoaned
his lost accomplishment, until he found
that he could whistle very well with an
artificial tooth whitfield ont of piece
of wood When a performance was de-
sired, he would calmly carve ont an in
cisor and put it in position Then the
audience would wait until the tooth
was swelled by the moisture of his
mouth so that it would not slip ont.
When plates were discovered and the
expert dentist was able to supply a
whole mouthful of new teeth, the teeth
themselves were carved out Of ivory
But constant grinding would wear away
the ivory, and these elephant teeth.
were not satisfactory.
Today all artificial teeth are made Of
porcelain, and will outlast Methu-
selah Those which are known in the
trade as ''stcre teeth, being carried in
stock by the big dental supply houses
are manufactured IN enormous quanti-
ties.
The porcelain material, which con-
tains various mineral proportions, is
worked up like a sort Of dough or plas-
ter. forced into molds and fused by in
tense heat in a furnace Each tooth is
covered with enamel and has one or
more metal pins il the back to hold it
TO the plate
In large lots these teeth can be made
very cheaply, but there is one item Of
expense that cannot be overcome, and
that is the cost of the metal holding the
pin The only metal which will stand
the intense heat Of the porcelain fur
mace is platinum, and that costs at the
rate of a cent pin simply for the raw
material a great deal Of money has
been spent in experiments to discover
some substitute for platinum, but moth
ing has YET been found
While a cheap grade of "store teeth
can be bought for few cents apiece.
they are not nearly as satisfactory as
the standard commercial article which
is used by most dentists y big supply
company Will carry hundreds of samples
of teeth, ali of standard qualities, but
differing greatly in size, shape and col
or In color alone from % to 100 varia-
tions may be presented
But as there are people who are not
satisfied with ready made clothing so
there are people who are not satisfied
with ready made teeth. False teeth
may look just as we'll or better than
real ones. but public speakers singers
and other prominent people want their
own teeth reproduced in all their pecul-
iarities of form and color and filings,
if they have them They want teeth
that cannot be told as false, and they
get them. not all at once perhaps, but
one by one, as the originals give out
In teeth that are made to order moth
ing is impossible, from the short. white
teeth of normal youth to the long, dis
colored ones Of extreme age, and the
prices range like those of watches
The teeth are set in plates of rubber,
gold and aluminium but the highest
achievement is considered to be plat
mum plate upon which has been fused
lining Of tinted porcelain similar to
that used for gum work. Tinted plates
have been made of the same material
as the teeth. but as the porcelain shrinks
in the firing the fitting of such plates
is uncertain.
And now for the answer to the ques-
ton. "What becomes of false teeth?
Sometimes they are lost sometimes
stolen and sometimes left as family
legacy Generally, however, they are
buried with the owner and lie forever
hidden in the ground.
1t is occasionally suggested that there
is quite business in secondhand false
teeth. but if there is such traffic it is
not of large proportions, Secondhand
teeth are valuable only for the platinum
wire that they contain. and when they
fall into the hands of. regular teeth
makers they are smashed up to get the
platinum out.
Not long ago a man who found a
double set of teeth went with them 10
dealer. thinking that he had prize
The finder was surprised when the deal
or refused to make an offer and said
that 10 cents a set was all they were
worth to any one but the person whose
mouth they fitted.
The expensive teeth are not market
able. and the marketable teeth are not
expensive. That is the whole thing in
nutshell
Yet teeth have been used over. A
lady went to dentist with set of
teeth which had belonged to her moth
er. who was dead She said that she
had always admired those teeth when
her mother wore them, and now that her
own were gone she wanted the old set
remounted for herself Ii was done
Boston Herald
] was r.. wy 80 adv. rtisement o
Chamberlain's Collie, Cholera and
Diarrhoea Remedy in the Worcester
Enterprise recently, which leads me tc
write this l can truthfully say | never