# How Would Your Teeth Fare in Ancient Egypt? ## Highlights ### 1 Ancient Egyptians thought cavities were caused by worms > Today, we know that plaque and bacteria cause a breakdown of the tooth’s enamel. In ancient Egypt, however, you would have been told you had a tooth worm. > > Your medic or dentist at the time — and [there is some evidence](https://www.historicmysteries.com/the-practice-of-medicine-and-dentistry-in-ancient-egypt/) that dentistry was a specialized profession — would think you had worms boring into your teeth because the holes caused by cavities look very similar to those caused by worms making their way through wood. ### 2 Ancient Egyptian dentistry used primitive materials but had similar methods > a dentist who could stabilize a loose tooth or fill a cavity, the material used probably tasted downright horrible. If you were lower-class to middle-class, you might be lucky to have the tooth packed with linen that was dipped in cedar oil or fig juice to keep the pain at bay and keep infection to a minimum. If you were at the mercy of a more skilled dentist, you might find yourself with [something similar to a modern composite filling](https://books.google.com/books?id=kmgW9kCwiWwC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Ebers+Papyrus+dentistry+yellow+ochre&source=bl&ots=Yq_vmeOZ8K&sig=ACfU3U1XxBnSjTw45wsABumpT5P3F7f1sA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir393yiI7kAhVNWqwKHRbsABgQ6AEwGnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=Ebers%20Papyrus%20dentistry%20yellow%20ochre&f=false), except instead of high-tech materials it would be made of ground barley as the bulk or filler, honey as a binder and antibiotic, and a pigment that also served as an antiseptic, yellow ochre. > > Instead of being able to mold a perfect fit like we can now, dentists in ancient Egypt had to hope the lost tooth from the person was still viable. If not, they would find a donor tooth. Imagine having someone else’s lost tooth in your mouth permanently! The dentists would drill a hole in the teeth and wire them to the surrounding teeth using gold or silver wire meant to hold up. ### 3 dental problems killed Egyptian pharaohs > King Tut, who ruled around 1300 BCE, is [thought to have died from a dental infection](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-09-sci-tut9-story.html) that entered his bloodstream. Hatshepsut, one of the only women pharaohs to rule, [died from a dental abscess](http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/tooth-ids-famed-egyptian-queen) — an infection that started in her tooth and traveled into her sinus cavities and beyond.