Totally Fascinating History Of Teeth Summary

In the articles “The Totally Gruesome, Totally Fascinating History of teeth” and “Where are all the Dentists?” both by Kristin lewis, it talks about how there are lots of challenges that people faced with dentistry over time. There are lots of small problems, but there are also lots of big problems, one that it talks about in the article is that back in the day, before we had good dental work, people would get there teeth pulled without anesthetics. In the article it says ”Tough cowboys of the American West would weep openly as their diseased teeth were yanked out with pliers--often with little more than a few gulps of whiskey to dull the searing pain,” (Lewis 14). This shows that people back in the day were willing to get there teeth pulled and go through the pain so they don't get an infection. Another big problem was when expensive denst shops were starting to pop up.
The average price of an exam and a cleaning is about $100. That can be a financial burden, especially for those without insurance. Yet the price of not getting regular cleanings can be much higher. When tooth issues go untreated, surgery may be required down the road. And dental surgery can cost thousands of dollars.” (Lewis 17). This shows that getting good dental work and having good teeth was very hard, and was almost always for just the rich. This meant that the poor would have to constantly deal with either bad, infected, and rotting teeth, or going to a cheap, unprofessional, and inexperienced “dentist”, which was very risky. Those where some of the many reasons why there are lots of challenges that people faced with dentistry over