General Chat

We were talking about teeth last night in the pub...as you do...and I said that at one time it was considered appropriate for the woman to have all her teeth out before she got married so her husband wouldn't get stuck with dental bills. I'm sure I've read about this happening in Wales and also in one of the books about the East End (Gilda O'Neill?) My so called friends think I make this stuff up...so I'm looking for back up. Can anyone help? Sheila

Im sorry but I would have stayed a spinster. lol Jackie:o)

Hi Sheila, I went to school in the area where we live and one of the boys in the class my Dad taught at secondary school had all his teeth taken out when he was 16 'to save trouble' later. This was in the 1960s It wasn't that uncommon. Gwynne

My great grand parents were missionaries in China from 1880 onwards and they had all their teeth removed before travelling out there. Suzanne

oh trust wales to come up with such a silly idea... sigh.. Em ( in wales... with all her own teeth)

Sometimes they had all their teeth out as a 21st present.....we were discussing teeth in the office way back in 1956 and in an office of 40 or so there was no-one over the age of 35 that still had their own teeth......several under 35 also had complete dentures. As is was quite common there were no issues to deal with......... however I always had an issue with teeth and I was glad the practice died out. The welfare state was not as it is now and it made economic sense .

I just Googled ....teeth extracted before marriage.... and it implies it was an Irish custom. Gwyn

Thanks everyone *smiles while still can* Sheila

HORRIFYING BUT VERY INTERESTING. ANY IDEA WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EXTRACTED TEETH ? OH, HAS RECOLLECTION OF HEARING SOMEWHERE, ( MAYBE ADAM HART DAVIS...)....... THAT IF A WEALTHY PERSON,, CENTURIES AGO HAD A TOOTH EXTRACTED, THEY WOULD HAVE A GOOD TOOTH EXTRACTED FROM A SERVANT AND 'IMPLANTED', INTO THE CAVITY. PIPS ( WITH OWN TEETH , AND NO ONE ELSE'S ...) LOL

My mother had all her teeth out at the age of 17...newly married, she had gum disease, and the Dentist told her it would 'save her trouble' later on. Her parents paid for it, as they said they would have paid for it for her 21st birthday anyway!!!!! (Glad it was traditional to give girls a sewing machine for their 21st, by the time I was 21!!) OC

Goodness, Its a good job my husband didnt know about this before we married:-)) Ive spent a small fortune on my teeth these past few years,with crowns,replacing my silver fillings with porceline ones and then the bleaching!lol Roxanne x

Full top plate and not even engaged.....

My Gran, in Portsmouth, had all her teeth out before marriage. This was in 1926. Not for the sake of savings later, but simply because of gum disease. She was given a set of ceramic false teeth, and they lasted until 1985 would you believe. She dropped them and they cracked. She never got on with her newer dentures, they were always falling out.

Well I never! I'd eared og girls in China having all their teeth out before marriage to save their husbands money when the teeth rotted but never heared of it in the UK! (I'm sure it's mentioned in 'Chinese Cinderella') I'm only missing 1 out of 32 of my teeth and that was a widom tooth that had come through a bit crocked, had pressed on a nerve and had caurse a hugh infection in my gum (started thinking I had 'lock-jaw'), dentist said it would keep caursing problems because it was impossable to brush around the back so out it came and it had started to develop carities already. My grandfather had all his adult teeth removed as a young adult because they had pushed through behind the milk teeth, he still had all his milk teeth when he died at 80. DYK.....it's cheeper to remove a tooth then to save it? I found that it cost under £50 to pull out my wisdom tooth but one of my fillings (replacement) cost nearly £100 now where's the logic in that?