The Dentist
One thing common to nearly all photographs taken of subjects during the Victorian Age is the face glaring out from the black and white print is invariably unsmiling. Simply from the photographs one would have to adjudge the Victorians to have been an unhappy bunch, especially when comparing the photographs with paintings or drawings, where they seem much more prone to gaiety.
It was during the Victorian Age that dentistry ceased to be considered a trade and assumed the role of a profession. Advances during the era were many, in the development and use of tools such as high speed drills, for instance. It was what went in the hole after the drilling was complete which made Victorian visits to the dentist potentially toxic.
Amalgamated fillings predated the Victorian Age, but not by much. During the era their use expanded dramatically. Amalgamated fillings contained more than 50% mercury. Today mercury is known to be the most poisonous naturally occurring material there is which is not classified as radioactive. Although still in use today under strict government regulation, such safeguards were not present in the Victorian’s day, and mercury laden fillings were poisonous to their recipients.
The fillings released mercury vapor, which was and is toxic, and up to 80% of those vapors were absorbed by the body. Mercury is a heavy metal which is not expelled by the body but builds up over time until symptoms of mercury poisoning appear. Today, removed amalgamated fillings or pieces thereof must be disposed of using hazardous material procedures, in part because of the mercury they contain.
Of course not going to the dentist was equally dangerous. The poor dental hygiene of the day, lack of fluoride, and dietary factors led to bad teeth being commonplace, and many simply let them rot where they were until they broke or fell out. This often led to septicemia – blood poisoning – which is life threatening today and in the Victorian Age invariably fatal.