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FIRST PERIOD—ANTIQUITY
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Martial is one of the first Roman writers who speak clearly of artificial
teeth. In Epigram LVI of Book XIV, the poet, by a bold personification,
makes the dentifrice powder say to a toothless old woman, furnished
with false teeth: "What have you got to do with me? Let a girl use
"^
me. I am not accustomed to clean bought teeth.
Elsewhere- Martial atrociously derides a courtesan, who, among her
other physical defects, was also without an eye: "Without any shame
thou usest purchased locks of hair and teeth. Whatever will you do
for the eve, Laelia .? These are not to be bought!"^
This epigram shows that, while dental prosthesis was already in use,
ocular prosthesis did not as yet exist.
To a plagiarist, who passed off Martial's poetry as his own, the latter
says: "With our verses, O Fidentinus, dost thou think thyself and
desire to be thought a poet. Even so, it seems to lE^t that she has all
her teeth, because of her false teeth of bone and ivory."*
There is, therefore, not the least doubt that in the days of Martial
artificial teeth were in use; and that these, as may be seen from the
epigram just now quoted, were made of ivory and bone; we do not know
whether they were formed also of other substances. The question, how-
ever, arises: In those times did they manufacture movable artificial
sets, or was the dental art then limited to fixing the artificial teeth un-
movablv to the neighboring firm teeth, by means of silk threads, gold
wire, and the like .^ The answer to this question may be found in another
epigram of Martial," where the latter ridicules a wanton old woman,
telling her, among other things still worse, that she at night lavs down
her teeth just as she does the silken robes."
It is, therefore, beyond all doubt that, at that period, the manner of
constructing movable artificial sets was known; and most probably not
onh^ partial pieces were made, but even full sets. In fact, from the verse
(juoted above we have justly the impression that the poet means a whole
set rather than a few teeth.
From the words of Martial, it may also be concluded that these dentures
X could be put on and off with the greatest ease; or, as we may say, by a

!)(. iinfricium ad cdcntulam:
Quid mecum est tibi.? me j)iRlla suniat,
Kmptos non soleo polire dentes.
' Lib. XII, epiu;. xxiii.
^ Dnitilms ari|iic comis, nee te pudct, uteris emptis.
()uid facies oculo, J>at;lia ? non einitur.
* Nostris versibus esse te poetam,
I'ilentine, putas, eupistjue eredi ?
Sic dentata sic videtur /K^le,
Kmptis ossil)iis, mdit()(|ue cornu. (I,ih. i, ipiir. Ixxii.)
Ijb. ix, epiif. xxxviii. " Ncc dentes aliter (juam seiica nocte reponas