During the 18th and 19th centuries, having money could also mean having your teeth destroyed. Sugar had long been an expensive product, and the wealthy could consume it in quantities that were beyond the reach of much of the population.
The result was paradoxical: the rich suffered severe tooth decay while many poor people kept healthier teeth. Historical studies have linked the rise in sugar consumption in Britain to a sharp increase in dental problems.
And some found a solution that seems chilling today: buying human teeth.
People with little money could sell healthy teeth, which were extracted in an attempt to place them in the mouths of wealthy clients. Teeth from corpses were also used.
But that rudimentary dentistry carried enormous risks. The source describes how some teeth could come from people with syphilis, in an era without today’s health controls.
And this is where the most disturbing part comes in.
Advanced syphilis could cause lesions capable of destroying the tissues, cartilage, and bones of the nose, eventually leading to its collapse and severe facial deformity. The loss of nasal structure associated with the disease is widely documented in historical medical texts.
Some people affected even resorted to artificial noses to conceal the disfigurement.
And so, a chain of events that could begin with something as seemingly innocent as a taste for sugar and a smile associated with status ended up becoming one of the strangest chapters in the history of dentistry: the rich buying the teeth of the poor and facing consequences that could remain etched on their faces forever.