One of the more popular proverbs still in use today is: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” We know it means to not express ungratefulness when receiving a gift, but have you ever wondered how the expression came about? Our research found that ranchers and farmers used to open a horse’s mouth to examine its teeth in order to determine how old it was and also to assess the state of its health.
A common expression today is “dressed to the teeth,” although it has been corrupted to “dress to the T.” This describes a man or woman so completely decked out in attire that the only body part left undressed is the teeth.
A lesser known expression, “long in the tooth,” was used to refer to someone more advanced in age. In a story written in the 1800s, a woman whose looks had eroded with age was described this way:
“His cousin was now of more than middle age, and had nobody’s word but her own for the beauty which she said she once possessed. She was lean, and yellow, and long in the tooth; all the shops in London could not make a beauty of her.”
More recently is the urban legend surrounding Clark Gable. As the story goes, the dashing ladies’ man was not an adherent of dental maintenance. His oral hygiene (or lack thereof) led to a “raging infection of the gums” (which we’d refer to today as “periodontal disease”) during the filming of Dancing Lady in 1933. He was hospitalized and all of his teeth extracted. He then had to wear dentures, or, as they said in those days, he was “fitted with false teeth.” He was off the production set for a month, only to fall sick again his first day back. Turns out the infection was in his entire body. In Mr. Gable’s era, the relationship between dental and systemic health was not as known as it is today. However, had he kept a regular dental maintenance schedule, his dentist would have had the opportunity to check the disease in its earlier stages.
Moving onto the world of television in the mid 1900s, you might be old enough to remember the following ad slogan dreamed up, no doubt, on Madison Avenue: “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” The ad went on to make a claim that this toothpaste contained an ingredient called “irium,” which supposedly fought tooth decay. It was later discovered that no such ingredient exists. Maybe this was the same ad agency that made snake oil so popular once upon a time?
In summary, whether urban legend or age-old proverb, folks have always recognized the importance of good teeth. If you want to preserve your health, you need to recognize that the teeth are interconnected to every organ in your body. Keeping a regular maintenance schedule helps not only your teeth, but your overall health.
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