This extraction key has a missing component, the latch that was placed around the tooth. It is one of the early versions of the toothkey, when the shaft was still straight. Subsequent bayonette models avoided damaging the front teeth when extracting a molar. The key was fashionable from the early 18th century to mid 19th C. Simple extraction tools were needed for “toothdrawers”, wondering dentists who moved from town to town and removed teeth at the marketplace as part of a public spectacle. Patients were seated on a podium, the patient was given some alcohol to “anesthetize”, held down by an extra hand while the toothdrawer would apply the toothkey and remove all or part of the tooth to the chearing of the crowd. The noise usually masked the painful outcry of the victim. Instruments were not sterilized, rarely cleaned and patients were certainly not seen after extraction. Bleeding, infection, pain, swelling or worse were common. Such was the state of dentistry. Description provided by Dr. Andrew I Spielman
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