His smile is somewhat faded.
A gold wire wraps around the teeth, holding a piece of ivory to replace a missing incisor.
This 400-year-old dental prosthesis made it possible to embellish the smile of Anne d'Alègre, a Protestant aristocrat who died in 1619 before her 60th birthday.
It is one of the only ones ever discovered, although the practice is very old and well known from written sources, French researchers tell us in the
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
.
“With
Anne d'Alègre
, we are certain that the prosthesis was placed during her lifetime
, explains Antoine Galibourg, co-author of the article and doctor of dental surgery at Paul-Sabatier University.
The other older examples could serve to embellish the body for its passage into the afterlife.
The burial of Anne d'Alègre was unearthed in 1988 at the Château de Laval.
“The archaeologists had noticed the presence of a
dental prosthesis
but did not have enough tools…
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