"False Teeth for the Masses": Artificial Technologies, Prostheses and Commodities in Britain, 1848 - 1948

“假牙和假牙长期以来一直是无牙者的重要辅助工具。18世纪，昂贵的假牙由河马象牙和黄金制成，用复杂的弹簧装置固定在一起，用来掩饰口腔健康状况不佳，增强个人形象和咀嚼能力，这是精英阶层的特权。但是从19世纪中期开始，假牙变成了“大众的假牙”（Woodforde 1968, 51）。假牙由新的、更便宜的、更容易加工的材料制成，包括硫化橡胶和瓷器，假牙日益成为受欢迎的消费品。由于麻醉使用的增加和牙科的专业化，生产假牙的公司数量迅速增加，各种各样的假牙和假牙也变得可用，这个市场最终被1948年通过NHS提供的标准化套装所主导。该项目将研究1848年至1948年间英国人工牙和假牙的消费和使用的转变，以五个广泛的问题为指导：1。制造商、牙医（专业和非专业）、零售商和健康美容行业在塑造这种转变中各自的角色是什么？在这一时期，假牙和假牙的主要设计特点是什么？它们如何以及为什么吸引患者/使用者/消费者？3. 这些技术的供求关系是怎样的？社会习俗和变量（年龄、阶级、性别、地理等）如何影响患者/使用者/消费者对假牙的选择？如何将对人工牙的研究传达给公众？本研究对于拓展健康、义肢与消费文化的历史研究具有重要意义。这是一个有价值的提醒，即人工牙不仅是专业牙医的专利，而且也是商业领域的重要组成部分。事实上，在19世纪和20世纪，人工牙在日常生活的物质文化中具有多种含义。作为医疗/牙科技术、假肢装置和商品，人工牙开始与肥皂、牙膏和牙刷等产品一起获得大众的青睐，特别是随着细菌学的出现，个人卫生获得了新的专业和普及意义。一个人的牙齿成为衡量生活质量的重要指标。坏牙（无论是天然的还是假的）象征着懒惰、丑陋和无法参与社会，对就业和家庭生活都有影响。因此，这项研究很重要，因为它关注的是牙齿发展出这些多重意义的时期。19世纪和20世纪的人工牙齿现在作为文物陈列在科学博物馆，已经成为追寻这些意义的重要物证。自20世纪中期以来，随着口腔健康的改善，失去天然牙齿的人越来越少，牙科美容、镶牙和“美国微笑”的兴起，人工牙齿和假牙的文化意义发生了变化，这意味着19世纪和20世纪的人工牙齿收藏具有特殊的历史意义。这个话题与今天的公众息息相关，让他们可以探索过去的牙齿健康如何影响我们今天的生活。

"Artificial teeth and dentures have long been important aids for the toothless. Disguising poor oral health and enhancing personal appearance and mastication, expensive eighteenth-century dentures made from hippopotamus ivory and gold held together with complex spring mechanisms were the preserve of the elite. But from the mid-nineteenth century, dentures became "false teeth for the masses" (Woodforde 1968, 51). Made from new, cheaper and easier to work materials, including vulcanised rubber and porcelain, false teeth increasingly became popular consumer items. Enabled by the increasing use of anaesthesia and the professionalization of dentistry, the number of companies producing false teeth rapidly expanded and a huge variety of artificial teeth and dentures became available, a market that eventually came to be dominated by the standardised sets made available through the NHS from 1948. This project will examine the transformation in the consumption and use of artificial teeth and dentures in Britain between 1848 and 1948, guided by five broad questions:1. What were the respective roles of manufacturers, dentists (professional and non-professional), retailers and the health and beauty industry in shaping this transformation?2. What were the main design features of artificial teeth and dentures during this period, and how and why did they appeal to patients/users/consumers? 3. What was the relationship between supply and demand for these technologies?4. How did social conventions and variables (age, class, gender, geography etc.) affect patient/user/consumer choice for artificial teeth?5. How might research into artificial teeth be communicated to public audiences?This study has important implications for expanding historical scholarship on health, prostheses and consumer culture. It is a valuable reminder that artificial teeth were not solely the preserve of professional dentists, but were also an important part of the commercial sphere. Indeed, artificial teeth in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries took on multiple meanings in the material culture of everyday life. As medical/dental technologies, prosthetic devices and commodities, artificial teeth began to gain mass appeal along with products such as soap, toothpaste and toothbrushes, particularly as personal hygiene gained new professional and popular significance following the emergence of bacteriological science. One's teeth became an important indicator of quality of life. Bad teeth (whether natural or false) came to signify laziness, ugliness and an inability to participate in society with implications for employment and family life. This study is therefore important because it focuses on the period when teeth developed these multiple meanings. As artefacts now in the Science Museum, nineteenth- and twentieth-century artificial teeth have become important material evidence for tracing these meanings. The changing cultural meanings of artificial teeth and dentures since the mid-twentieth century, following the oral health improvements that meant fewer people lost their natural teeth and the rise of cosmetic dentistry, veneers and the 'American smile', means that artificial teeth collections of the nineteenth and twentieth century carry particular historical significance. The topic is highly relevant for public audiences today, allowing them to explore the how the health of our teeth in the past impacts on our lives today.