#tooth worm

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

The Tooth Worm as Hell’s Demon

[year-of-the-rabid-dog]

|Tooth Worm Carvings|

Artist; Unknown 

[grotesquegabby]

Inktober day 3 Teeth

Tooth worm

[littlepennydreadful]

“The Tooth Worm as Hell’s Demon” c. 1750

ivory

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/white-knuckle-adventures-in-early-dentistry/

[gunhildhastings]

http://www.retronaut.com/2013/06/the-tooth-worm-as-hells-demon/

“This carving is in a molar which can be separated into two halves. It depicts the torments of toothache as a battle with the “tooth worm”. The legend of the “tooth worm” as the cause of toothache originated in Mesopotamia around 1800 B.C.”

[foto-jennic]

Zahnwurm [Tooth Worm] Anonymous French artist, 18th century, carved ivory image of a human tooth. This carving shows a vicious, demonic worm, which had settled down as a parasite within the tooth. The toothache agony is dramatically emphasized by the tiny image of a human being held in the worm's grasp. The other side of the tooth even depicts tiny humans among the flames of hell. As an anonymous folk-art carving, it captures the drama of pain and ascribes the discomfort to a vividly imagined source. 

[messytimetravel]

1700s: “The tooth worm as Hell’s Demon”

“This carving is in a molar which can be separated into two halves. It depicts the torments of toothache as a battle with the “tooth worm”. The legend of the “tooth worm” as the cause of toothache originated in Mesopotamia around 1800 B.C.”

Source: Retronaut

[downlo]

The first and most enduring explanation for what causes tooth decay was the tooth worm, first noted by the Sumerians around 5000 BC. The hypothesis was that tooth decay was the result of a tooth worm boring into and decimating the teeth. This is logical, as the holes created by cavities are somewhat similar to those bored by worms into wood.

The ivory sculptures below depict the havoc wrought by these wicked worms.

The idea of the tooth worm has been found in the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers and poets, as well as those of the ancient Indian, Japanese , Egyptian, and Chinese cultures. It endured as late as the 1300s, when French surgeon Guy de Chauliac promoted it as the cause of tooth decay.