Death By Dentures

Did George Washington’s famous oral appliance do him in? Was the throat infection that took our first President’s life caused by colonies of bacteria that grew in his world-famous dentures? By all reports, George Washington was a very athletic , strapping man who was taller , larger and stronger than the average countryman of his time . So how is it that –at the age of 67-he became ill and died in only 3 days. Washington suffered from both dental problems and a variety of illnesses in his younger life . He lost his first adult tooth at the young age of 22 and by the time he became president , in 1789 at the age of 57 , he had only one tooth remaining despite daily brushing and the use of toothpaste and mouthwash . At his inauguration , he was wearing a full set of dentures that were attached to his final tooth . Washington was treated by no fewer than 8 prominent dentists who practiced in colonial America , but his favorite was Dr John Greenwood . The dentures he prepared for Washington had a base of hippopotamus ivory carved to fit the gums . The upper denture had ivory , and the lower plate consisted of human teeth fastened by gold pivots that screwed into the base . The set was secured in Washington’s mouth by spiral springs . The upper and lower gold plates were connected by springs that pushed the upper and lower plates against the upper and lower ridges of his mouth to hold them in place . Washington had to actively close his jaws tightly to make his teeth bite together .
Today we know that bacteria in dentures can cause , among other things , upper respiratory infections , cario endocardidits , intestinal infections , and open wound infections . But in Washington’s day you didn’t know that bacteria existed until 1867 when Joseph Lister introduced the idea that microorganisms lead to infection and that antiseptics needed to be used for surgical procedures . Washington died 68 years before this discovery . In Thursday , December 12 , 1799 , Washington spent the day outside in the snow and freezing rain inspecting his estate , Mt. Vernon. He ate his dinner that night in his wet clothing . The next morning , he complained of a severe sore throat . Accounts now attribute the cause to quinsy , acute epiglottis , or possibly thrush . Both quinsy and epiglottis are bacterial infections and thrush is a yeast infection in the mouth and throat . Washington’s condition worsened throughout the day until early Saturday morning , December 14 , when he awoke Martha , his wife , telling her that he felt ill . Although several physicians were summoned to his bedside , Washington died at 10pm. Where did these infections come from? Evidence suggest they could have been harbored in Washington’s dentures .