As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, WTOP presents “250 Years of America,” a multipart series examining the innovations, breakthroughs and pivotal moments that have shaped the nation since 1776.
Delta Dental is proud to partner with WTOP to bring you this series.
Most cultures have myths about their prominent leaders, and for Americans, a common one is that the Father of our Nation sported wooden teeth. However, the truth about George Washington’s dentures tells a different story — one that caused the nation’s first president considerable suffering throughout his life.
Although it’s unclear exactly how the wooden teeth myth got started, Amanda Isaac, chief curator at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, said it appears to have taken hold in schools and in popular media by the late 19th and early 20th century. Isaac also noted that the origin of the myth could be linked to the appearance of his surviving dentures.
“They’ve aged over time,” Isaac said. “Washington was a great wine drinker, including sweet after-dinner wines like port that would stain the teeth, and so the thought is that people just misinterpreted what they were seeing. They saw these yellowy brown artifacts and thought they were made of wood, when in fact, they were just stained.”
Washington started losing his teeth at just 24 and endured dental troubles for much of his life. He frequently noted his dental struggles in diary entries, writing about tooth aches, inflamed gums and dentures that didn’t fit properly.
“In terms of dental history back then, the standard procedure is if you had any type of dental tooth pain, they would extract it,” she said. “There wasn’t any type of fillings or caps you could do, there wasn’t any intermediary remedial care,” she added, noting how far dental care has advanced.
In fact, Washington’s dentures were made of several materials — including cow, horse and human teeth. In May 1784, a Mount Vernon journal of accounts describes a purchase by Washington of nine teeth from enslaved people.
“And then there’s some additional metals — iron for the springs, brass and silver used to adhere all this together,” Isaac said.
Despite his discomfort, Washington’s dental troubles unexpectedly helped mislead the British Army in 1781, when a letter he wrote to his French dentist ended up in the hands of the British commander, Sir Henry Clinton. The documents caused British leaders to believe American and French forces posed no immediate threat to Yorktown, Virginia, where General Lord Charles Cornwallis’s troops were positioned.
“He’s focused on thinking that Washington is going to be elsewhere, and doesn’t reinforce Cornwallis, which is a pivotal, crucial decision that allows the French and Americans to corner him and force the surrender,” Isaac said.
Even though his troubles played an unexpected role in America’s victory, Isaac said Washington was very self-conscious about his teeth, to the point that he used coded correspondence with his dentist in attempts to keep it private.
“By the time he was president, he only had one natural tooth left in his mouth, and then as now, having a beautiful smile and a pleasant appearance was a great status symbol,” she said.
Isaac said the story about Washington’s teeth reveals a human side of the man known as the country’s first commander in chief.
“Washington became such a great leader, someone who was known for his self-control, his ability to make good decisions, but his dental history helps us see that other side of him, his weakness,” Isaac said.
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