Medieval Dentistry: Bloodletting, Worms, and Charlatans

Medieval dentistry was a brutal affair, with treatments ranging from bloodletting to fumigation with poisonous plants. Barbers, not physicians, performed tooth extractions and bloodletting, as these invasive procedures were considered low status. The four humors theory guided treatments, with bloodletting used to restore balance. Worms were believed to cause tooth decay, and fumigation with henbane or hellebore was used to expel them, despite risks of convulsions and hysteria. Cauterization, popularized by 11th-century Arab physician Al Zahrawi, involved applying hot needles to teeth. Tooth pulling was a last resort, often performed publicly by traveling charlatans who used deception and spectacle. Some remedies included vile ingredients like raven's dung. These practices persisted into the 20th century in parts of England.