The sun., 1899-04-02
READY NfDE TEETH.
Some Facts ms to Their Manufacture and
What becomes of Them.
From n, Boston Herad.


From n Boston Heraid
Hundreds OF thousands Of artificial teeth are
manufactured and sold every year. What be-
comes Of them 1t is like asking what becomes
OF pins and other things which are practically
indestructble
Before making guess. it Is worth while to
consider how 'artiilcial teeth are made The
story is told in Nantucket Of a sea captain who
was great whistler until he lost one of his
front teeth by accidental contact with a beay-
ing pin. For some time he bemoancd his lost
accomplishment. until he found that he could
whistle very well with an artificial tooth whit
tied out OF a piece OF wood. When perfOr-
nance was desired he would calmly carve out
an incisor and put it in position. Then the
audience would wait until the tooth was
swelIed by the moisture OF his mouth SO that
it,W%2uld not slip out.
pert dentist was able To- sunpya whol" mouth
dnr du, OF new teeth; the teeth @ th"mS.iycI were
phant teeth were not satisfactory.
:. To-day, all artificial teeth are made of Eorce
teeth" being carried in stock by the big
dental SUPPLY houses. al" manufactured in
The porcelain material. which contains va
sort :? dough or plaster for"cd into 81 mods m lG and
fused 10y intense heat IN furnace. Each tooth
Is covered with enamel. and has one or moro
meta pins in the back to hold It to the plate.
In large lots these teeth can be mad" very
chenplv but there is one itcm 81 expense that
cannot he overcome. and that is the cost Of he
metal holding IN" pin. The only metal which
will stand the ntcns" heat Of the porcelain
~ tHrnare ace rs platinum @ nnd tIat costs at The rat.
great deal of money has been spent in cXperi-
ment to discover some substitute for platinum.
but nothing has yet been found
While cheap. grade of store teeth" can
be bought i9r a lew cents apiece, they are not
cial article which is used by most dentists A
big supply company will carry hundreds of
sagmpl"s Of teeth. all Of standard qualities. but
color alone from % to 100 varieties may be
presented.
with ready made clothing. S" there arc people
VIII" are not satisfied with rcady-made teeth
False teeth may look Just rs well as or better
than real ones. but rubIr speakers. singers
and other prominent people want their own
teeth rsgroanc"d il n theiT pScnIari'Gs Of
They want teeth that cannot he told as false.
nnnd they get thcm.-,,not al at once. perhaps
In teeth that ar, mad" To order nothing is
impossible. from the short. white teeth OF nor
tremc age. and the prices range with those Of
The teeth are set in plates of rubber. gold
and ALUMINIUM. but the highest ach!eyrmcnt is
nsdered to he n platinum plate upon which
has been fused lining Of tinted porcelain
plates have been made Of he same n!atcriaI 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 question.
What becomes ~ false tceth?" Sometimes
they are lost. sometimes stolen. and sometimes
left as n family Legacy. Generally. however.
they are buried with tie owner and lie forever
hidden in the ground.
It is occasionally suggested that there Is
quite business in secondhand false teeth,
hut II there !, such ralllc it is not OF large
proportions. Secondhand teeth are valuable
only Tor the platinum wr" that they contain
and when they fall into the hands of regular
teethmakers they are smashed up to get the
platinum out
Not long ago man who found n double set
OF teeth went with them to "A dealer. thinking
that he had prize. The finder was SURPRISED
whom the dealer refused to make an offer. and
said that 10 cents a set was all thev were worth
to- oany one but the person whom they fitted.
. The expensive teeth are not marketable. and
the arketahlC teeth are not extensive That
Is the whole thing in "A utShell.
Yet teeth have been used over. A lady went
TO dentist with q set OF teeth which had be-
lonEed to her mother who was dead. She said
that she, had ALWAYS admired those teeth when
her mother wore them. and now that her own
were gone sh" wanted the old set remounted
for herself. 1t was done.