New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-05
FALSE TEETH.
HOW THEY ARE MADE AND WHAT Be
COMES OF THEM
From The Boston Herald.


From The Boston Herald
Hundreds Of thousands of artificial teeth arc
manufactured and sold every year What be-
comes of them? II is like asking what becomes
Of pins and other things which are practically
indestructibie
Before making guess. it is worth while to
consider how artificial teeth are made. The
story is told I'm Nantucket Of a captain who
was a great whistler until he lost one Of his
front teeth by accidental cOntact with Delay
ing pin. For some time he bemOaned his lost
accomplishment. until ne found that NJ could
whistle very well with artificial tooth whit
tied cut Of piece Of wood. When perform
ance was desired he would calmly carve out an
igc.sor and pat Z in position Then the audi
ence would wait until the tooth was swelled by
the moisture of his mouth so that it would not
slip out.
When plates were discovered and the expert
dentist was able 10 supply whole mcathful OF
new tocth the teeth themselves We're carved
out # ivory. But constant grinding would wear
away The ivory. and these elephant teeth were
not satsfact .ry.
To-day all artificial teeth are made Of porce-
lain. ard will outlast a Mcthuselah Those which
are known lu The trade as store teeth" being
carried lu stock hy the biz dental supply houses,
are Uaultl. turrd in enormous quantities.
The porcelain material which contains yarl-
GUS mineral proportions Is worked up like a sort
81 dough OF plaster. forced into mouds and
fused by intense heat I'm a furnace. Each tooth
is covered with enamel. and has one or more
metal pins in the back to hold it to the plate
In large lots these teeth can be made very
cheaply. hut there is one item - expense that
cannot bee overcome. and that is the cost OF the
metal holding the pin The only metal which
viii stand the intense heat II the porcelain fur
mace Is platinum. and that costs at the rate OF
a cent pin simply for the raw material
great deal Of money has been spent in expert
rneuts 20 discover some substitute for. platinum,
but nothing has yet been found
While a cheap grade OF store teeth can be
bought for few cents apiece, they are not
nearly rs satisfactory as the standard cOmmer
cial article which IS used by most dentists.
big supply company will carry hundreds OF sam
pies of teeth all Of standard qualities, but diff
fering greatly in size. shape and color. In color
alone from twenty five to one hundred yaria-
tions may bc presented.
But as there are people who are not satisfied
with ready made clothing. so there are people
who are not satisfied with rcadymade teeth.
False teeth may look just well or better than
real ones but public speakers singers and other
prominent people want their own teeth repro
ducod in all their peculiaritts Of form and color,
and filings IL they have them They want teeth
that cannot ho told as false. and they get them
not an at once. perhaps but one BY one, as the
In teeth that are made to order nothing is i'm
possihla from tho short, white teeth Of normal
youth 10 The long. disc0Dred ones or extreme
age and the prices range with those OF watches.
The teet are set in plates II rubber gold and
aluminium, but the highest achievement Is con-
sidercd - De platinum plate upon "iIch mas
been fused lining Of tinted porcelain similar
10 that used for gum work Tinted plates nave
been made Of the same material as the teeth,
but a. the porcelain shrinks I'm the firing the
fitting Of such plates is uncertain.
And now for the answer % the question
What becomes of false teeth;' Sometimes
They are lost. sometimes stolen. and sometimes
lift az a family legacy. Generally however.
they are buried with the owner, and lie forever
hidden in o. ground.
II is occasionally suggested that there Is quito
a business iu secondhand false teeth. but II
there is such traffic il is not II large proper
tious Second hand teeth are valuable only for
the platinum wire that they contain, and when
they fall into the hands of regular eth makers
they ar, smashed up L. get the platinum out
Not long ago man who found a double set
II teeth went with them 10 a dealer, thinking
that h. had a prize The finder was surprised
when tho dealer refused 10 make an offer and
said tina: 10 cents a set was all they were worth
70 any one but the person whose mouth they
fitted
The expensive teeth are not marketable. and
the marketable teeth are not expensive. That
is the whole thing in nutshell
Yet teeth have been used over. \ lady went
10 dentist with a set Of teeth which had be-
longed % her mother who was dead. She said
that she had always admired those teeth when
her mother Wor- them, and now that her own
were gone she wanted the old set remounted for
herself II done.
FOR CULINARY REASON.