But his dentures were, in fact, constructed from chunks of ivory from hippopotamuses, walruses, and What might have led people to believe that Washington's teeth were made from wood, he says, was the brownish stain on his denture teeth This was Americans widely believe that George Washington had wooden teeth. No matter how poorly they performed, there aren't any accounts of the dentures being carved out of wood. Rinse your dentures to wash off any leftover food particles, and use that same soft-bristled brush along with a non-abrasive cleanser to clean them. However, it is likely that it comes in part from the way his ivory dentures became stained and worn over time, which gave them He had multiple sets of dentures that were made out of materials like gold, ivory and lead. The mistaken belief that Washington's dentures were wooden was widely accepted by 19th century historians and appeared as fact in school textbooks until well into the 20th century. Although George Washington did wear false teeth, they were not made of wood. (Image credit: Gerry Broome/AP/REX/Shutterstock) According to the Mount Vernon Library, the origins of the myth of the wooden dentures is unclear. This will prevent them from getting scratched while maintaining their color. One of the most enduring myths about George Washington is that his dentures were made of wood. Contrary to later legend, none of Washington's false teeth were made of wood. Prior to Washington's service in the Revolutionary War, Dr. John Baker, the first dentist to fashion false teeth for Washington, fabricated a partial denture with ivory that was wired to Washington's remaining real teeth. Its quite possible that some of his dentures, particularly after they had been stained, took on a wooden complexion, but wood was never used in the construction of any of his dental fittings. The possible origin of this myth is that the ivory teeth quickly became stained and may have had the appearance of wood 11 Key People Who Shaped George Washington's Life. Here, they are on display at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. He began losing teeth as early as his twenties, and was eventually forced to wear several sets of unsightly and painful dentures. Unfortunately, none of them ever fit very well and caused his gums to swell. Aspen Dental practice owner Dr. Shekhar Gupta crossed the Delaware to visit the National Museum of Dentistry at the University of Maryland to find out firsthand. There were much more durable materials available like bone, ivory and human teeth. That way, no one will mistakenly think you have wooden teeth just like George Washington even though he didn't! Did George Washington Have Wooden Teeth? Dentures worn by George Washington are not made of wood, as one tale suggested. For generations, its been said that our FIRST PRESIDENT had wooden teeth, but is there truth to this wide-spread myth? How Dwight Eisenhower Found God in the White House. Sometimes Washington used his own pulled teeth to help make up his dentures. Did George Washington Really Have Wooden Teeth?