How did French aristocrat keep from losing her teeth? Secret revealed 400 years later
Anne D’Alègre had a reputation, and not necessarily a good one.
Born in 1565, the French aristocrat had been widowed twice and lost a son in the midst of multiple religious wars when her teeth started to fall out.
The trait, caused by periodontal disease, was very unbecoming for the French elite, so she had to find a way to keep her teeth from slowly slipping out of her skull.
In a study from Archaeological Science: Reports, and Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives, researchers found D’Alègre’s dentistry secret.
She used gold wire to keep her teeth in place, weaving it around individual teeth and through her smile.
D’Alègre’s remains were found in 1988 in the northwest region of France, but it wasn’t until recently that they were able to be examined more closely.
The team used a “Cone Beam” scan, a program that takes X-rays and builds a three-dimensional image, giving scientists a holistic view of D’Alègre’s skull and dental work.
They found that not only had she used gold wire to tighten her teeth and hold them together, but she also had a rare artificial tooth made from the ivory of an elephant, a testament to her status.
However, the researchers said her teeth bling might have actually made her condition worse.
In order for the gold wire to be effective, it would have had to be regularly tightened, slowly destabilizing the teeth around it and causing a great deal of pain.
She may have thought the pain was worth it to maintain her position in the aristocracy, since her reputation was already on the rocks following the death of her second husband and a rumor that she may be marrying a third.
The rumors were silenced when D’Alègre fell ill in 1619 and died at the age of 54. Her body was buried away from the other Protestants of the same social station, but her unique dental trick lives on 400 years later.
Google Translate was used to translate a release from the Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives.
