Makes perfect sense, when you think about it
Behold, the tooth worm! This is an 18th Century sculpture carved in ivory (notice the pegs — it fits together and closes up) by an unknown artist.
But people really believed this was a thing. I mean, not this imaginative version, but people believed in a tooth worm that burrowed into teeth and made them go bad and ouchy. Believed it from antiquity right into the 20th C.
And when you think about it, extracted teeth would usually have little dark holes in them, like rotten apples. Yeah, worms. Makes sense. Compounded by the possibility that early dentists mistook nerves or blood vessels for worms while they were digging around in there.
Ow. Let’s not think about that too hard.
This is taken from a delightful blog I ran across in my travels, the Chirurgeon’s Apprentice. So many gruesome historical nuggets, I had difficulty picking just one.
Right, see you back here tomorrow? It’s time for Dead Pool Round 68! Be here or be somewhere else!
August 14, 2014 — 9:54 pm
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