Medical Antiques > Medical Dental Instruments

French 18th Century Dental Key with Bone Handle.

Item#: MES1118

SOLD

 

This is a Franch 'Clef de Garengeot' bent-shaft early type iron toothkey with molded stem and original turned bone handle. The working end of the key consists of a bolster and a hinged semicircular claw. The bolster has 4 holes for attaching linen or leather to reduce the pressure on the gingival tissue. In later 19th century tooth keys, the claws were replicable and with different sizes. To extract a tooth, the bolster was placed against the root of the tooth and the claw over the crown. The key was then turned until the tooth was dislocated and extracted. Toothkey length: 13.5 cm (5.5 inches).