In the 1800s in the USA, some patients went to the dentist with an unusual complaint: Their teeth were erupting in their mouths.
We can easily say that teeth are not generally known for their explosive properties. However, in 1817, a priest from Mercer County, Pennsylvania began to experience the worst toothache of his life, which “driven him crazy.”
A report written by dentist WH Atkinson in the Dental Cosmos in 1860 draws attention: “During his pain, he was running around, trying in vain to get some respite; sometimes he would bang his head on the ground like an angry animal, sometimes poke his teeth under the fence, then go to the water source and dip it in cold water; This frightened his family so much that they took him to the cabin and did their best to calm him down. But it was all in vain, until the next morning at nine o’clock, as he was walking on the ground in a wild delirium, he was instantly relieved when the tooth was suddenly shattered by a sharp clatter resembling a pistol shot. At that moment he turned to his wife and said, ‘My pain is gone. He went to bed and slept soundly all day and most of the next night, after which he was sane and well.”
Two more cases were described by the dentist, one in 1830 and the other in 1855. As in the case of the priest, they had increased pain, followed by a sudden sharp pain, a tooth that erupted, and immediate relief. In one case it was noted that the tooth was “split into pieces”.
Also, these events were not unusual reports of a single dentist using problematic fillings.
As the dentist J. Phelps Hibler wrote of a patient in 1874, “Just before the eruption occurred, his tooth ached terribly, disturbing the harmonious calm of every part of his organism, so that at certain moments he was operating under mild mental aberrations. All of a sudden, with no signs other than the previous severe pain, the lower right first molar burst with a jolt and was so powerful that it nearly knocked him down; separated the tooth directly from the lingual to the buccal surface and almost disintegrated the organ; at the same time, he had a terrible feeling traversing the Eustachian pipes, causing him to remain completely deaf for a considerable time. It all took a moment and the toothache stopped in an instant.”
Why were the “exploding teeth” incidents happening?
Unfortunately, since these cases ended abruptly in the 1920s, they cannot be investigated directly. But dentists have proposed various theories over the years. One of the early theories was that a decaying tooth created a buildup of gas and subsequently caused an eruption. However, even if there is a buildup of gas in the teeth due to, for example, an incomplete root canal, this does not cause enough pressure to cause people’s teeth to erupt in their mouths as described.
Andrea Sella, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at University College London, has suggested a more likely explanation than natural gas buildup due to decay. Cases of erupted teeth may have been caused by old-fashioned chemicals used in fillings, Sella suggests. In the 1800s, many different metals were used to fill cavities, from tin to lead, which is not recommended today. Using two different metals in the same mouth could basically form a battery.
“It can spontaneously electrolysis due to the mixture of metals in your mouth,” Sella told the BBC in 2016, adding: “My preferred explanation is that if a filling is poorly done and some of the decay remains, that means there is a possibility of hydrogen build-up within the tooth.”
This tooth may later burst due to pressure or ignite, for example, while smoking, although this is still not highly likely. Unfortunately, we still do not know the full explanation, as there is no evidence of fillings in these patients. However, as cases have stopped occurring, it’s likely that this is due to an old method of dentistry. In other words, you don’t have to worry about your teeth erupting in your mouth right now.
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