Facts, fads, and fancies about teeth / comp. and ed. by Henry Lovejoy Ambler ; ill. by W. L. Evans.

  • Ambler, Henry Lovejoy.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Facts, fads, and fancies about teeth / comp. and ed. by Henry Lovejoy Ambler ; ill. by W. L. Evans. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    In witness of thesothe: Ich han bitten this wax with my wang-tothe.—The wax affixed to old writings was bitten by the party delivering them, before the use of seals was common. English. In Derbyshire toothache was supposed to be caused by a worm; to extract it a small quantity of dry herbs was placed in tea-cup and a live coal dropped into it. The patient held their mouth over the cup and inhaled the smoke, then a cup of water was put before the patient into which they breathed hard, when the worm could be seen in the water. A charm to prevent toothache in Wiltshire, England, is a want's (mole's) forelegs and one hind-leg worn around the neck in a bag. In Cornwall, England, toothache was cured by biting from the ground the first fern that appeared in the spring. In Suffolk, England, a woman when suffering from pain in her cheek (probably from a tooth), applied a mustard poultice to her instep, in expectation of being freed from pain. H. Pigott. When children shed their first teeth, it is considered neces- sary to burn them; for if the cast-off teeth are destroyed in any other way, they will be succeeded by cat's teeth. England, H. Pigott. In Worcestershire a charm was used by a man for the re- moval of thrush (locally termed throcks). He would put his finger into his mouth, and then into that of the child, rubbing the gums while he mumbled out something terminating with Father, Son and Holy Ghost, then put down the child without speaking another word, and leave the house without eating or drinking. J. Noake. An old woman in North Cornwall preserved all her teeth as she. lost them, firmly believing that they must be buried with her against the day of resurrection, otherwise her resurrection body would not be perfect. Cox.