George Washington's (not so) Wooden Teeth

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. They had a wonderful exhibit about America's first commander-in-chief, George Washington. What an interesting character he was, from the tender age of 19 he was an active part of American history and our local Pittsburgh history. As a dentist, I was most captivated by what seemed to be the centerpiece (forgive my skewed point of view) of the exhibit, the litany of his teeth. I was so inspired by how modern dentistry could have helped old George so dramatically in his lifetime that I'll be changing the format of my blog for the next few weeks to talk about it. Part One will be finished shortly, so bookmark my site! In regards to the title here, it is a myth that George Washington had wooden teeth. His teeth were made of many substances throughout his lifetime, but wood was never used for the teeth in George Washington's dentures.