This tall man of legendary strength had a mouth in constant pain. He lost his first tooth at 24, and by his inauguration in 1789, he had only one natural tooth remaining—and that was pulled during his presidency. His letters and journals[1] are full of references to his suffering: aching teeth, inflamed gums, ill-fitting dentures. The dentures distorted his appearance, pushing out his lips and cheeks in later portraits, including the one on the dollar bill. He took laudanum for the pain and avoided public speaking.[2]

Contrary to fable, they were not made of wood. They were made of real teeth, animal and human. We know Washington purchased some teeth from his slaves; we don’t know if he carried any of those particular teeth inside his head. In 1784, Washington paid several unnamed slaves 122 shillings for nine teeth. They could not have meaningfully refused. The discomfort is both physical and moral.

Why are we so fascinated by Washington’s teeth, his one obvious physical frailty? Washington’s dentures are unimaginable to us, with our veneers, our bacteria-zapping lasers, our carefully calibrated bleaching to make our teeth white, but not too white. Perhaps it’s the barbaric connection to slaveholding. Perhaps it’s also because these crummy old dentures are tangible evidence that his life was full of small daily humiliations and discomforts that otherwise get sanded down in the retelling. They are evidence of his naked humanity.

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[1] Washington treated his dental troubles as a state secret. When the British intercepted a personal letter he'd written to his dentist that may have inaccurately detailed his location during the Revolutionary War, he was mortified. But the letter inadvertently contributed to the victory at Yorktown.

[2] Washington delivered the first inaugural address in the privacy of the Senate chamber rather than publicly. He did the same for his second inaugural address, at 135 words still the shortest in history—shorter even than Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Links:

• The Trouble with Teeth – Mount Vernon

  
  

• “George Washington’s biggest battle? With his dentures, made from hippo ivory and maybe slaves’ teeth” – William Maloney, Big Think, February 21, 2022

  
  

• Dental trouble timeline with portraits - Mount Vernon

This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country's 250th anniversary. 250 words on 250 works, from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

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