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Believe it or not dental prosthesis has a very rich history, the oldest known dentures that were discovered were made out of real human and animal teeth and they were popular and used until the 19th century. The first wooden teeth were discovered at Japan that dated up until the Meji Era. Since dentists didn't exist yet during those olden times there are smiths instead, and they created dentures out of gold and ivory.

Now contrary to the popular belief, George Washington's false teeth were not made from wood but instead they were made from hippopotamus ivory and very thin gold plates. Back in London there were also known smiths that made dentures out of porcelain and gold plates.

Around the 1800 dentures were known to be made out of hardened rubber. Now because of advancements in technology the modern dental prosthetics are made out of acrylic resin and plastic.

Before you see a dentist, you should know what kind of dentistry they specialize in. Dentistry is not only about dentists, there are also a few specializations that branch out of the general dentistry. Here's a list of the different kind of specialties.

  • Endodontics - These are those who practice Root canal therapy.
  • Oral and maxillofacial surgery - A dental specialty that extracts and implants teeth.
  • Orthodontics - They are known as the dentists who install braces.
  • Periodontics - They specialize in both surgical and non-surgical methods of dentistry.
  • Pediatric dentistry - Dentistry for children.
  • Prosthodontics - They specialize in dentures and bridges.
Now next time that you are having problems with your teeth try to find a specialist that will help you, if you are not sure you can always go to a dentist who practices general dentistry and they will help you find the specialist that you need.