Tough Teeth
by David Gentle
This is not a training article, nor should you try to emulate any of the
stunts mentioned. Really it is just some 'grisly' information to read in
between your next set of bench presses...It's all about TEETH. "What the
hell has teeth to do with weight training". I hear you ask
sweetly...Answer, "Lots". If you have bad teeth, you are systematically
poisoning your body, resulting in aches, pains, poor recuperation and a
general lack of progress. June ONE bad tooth, can prevent you reaching your
goal, so if in doubt see your dentist. Here we go....
To the right: John Massis showing the world's toughest teeth.
First 'milk' teeth normally develop in infants from 5 to 8 months, although there are records of babies being born with teeth. Molars usually appear after two to two and a half years. By the age of two and a half, all twenty deciduous teeth should have been formed. Later the second set or permanent teeth form in the gums below, gradually pushing out the first set. An adult should have 32 teeth, of which there are 16 in the upper and 16 in the lower jaw. These consist of 8 incisors or cutting teeth, 4 canines or pointed teeth, 12 grinding teeth or molars and 8 pre-molars.
Teeth decay or dental caries is the commonest disease (non contagious) in the world with very few people escaping its effects. Over 25% of adults lose all their teeth by the age of just sixteen, a frightening statistic, which could be easily improved if extra care was taken of the preserve your teeth for most of your life. Otherwise you may end up with FALSE TEETH...
False teeth date from antiquity..Dentists of the ancient world of the ETRUSCANS made false teeth from carved ivory, with gold bridge work 700 years before Christ.
Queen Elizabeth the First, had less exotic treatment, having to hide her sunken jaws by stuffing her mouth with fine cloth. It wasn't until the end of the 17th century that the rich in general were able to purchase dentures. Normally the replacement teeth were pulled from poor donors, being set in ivory gums.
By the 18th century, the problem of keeping the upper false set of teeth in place was solved by having the upper and lower sets joined by steel springs, which the wearer had gums and teeth. By spending just a few minutes a day on oral hygiene you should be able to exert pressure to keep the mouth shut (no 'mother in law' jokes please..). A French dentist just prior to the Revolution introduced the first all-porcelain teeth with individual porcelain teeth originating from the U.S.A. being available by the 1850's. These were introduced by dentist CLAUDIOUS ASH who in common with other dentists of that period used dead men's teeth. (I promised you some grisly bits!) The human teeth replacements before porcelain were obtained either from poor donors sometimes been pulled out and then immediately rammed into the recipient's jaw ugh!!, or else derived from dead bodies. The BATTLE OF WATERLOO for example provided many dentists with stocks, as did the bizarre truth, that barrels of teeth were shipped over to England taken from dead soldiers of the AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
Modern dentures evolve from American CHARLES GOODYEAR's invention of
vulcanite a composition, which made it possible to obtain close facsimiles of
the gums, thereby resulting in correct fitting practical dentures.
Paris, March 1977, John Massis raises an incredible 532 lbs. with his teeth!
Teeth can be tough...The greatest exponent of teeth lifting or pulling today is the GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS CHAMPION the BELGIAN strongman JOHN MASSIS. John has pulled more weight than any other man in history, has lifted with this teeth the amazing weight of 233kgs or 514lbs. has held back airplanes form leaving the ground with his teeth, and even held back an helicopter using his powerful jaw and teeth.
JOE GREENSTEIN who's story is told in a lovely book by ED SPIELMAN called "THE MIGHTY ATOM", became renowned for his ability to genuinely bite through chains and nails. He discovered this talent for tough teeth purely by accident. It appears that Joe, searching for new stunts to add to his strongman repertoire, began practising lifting a heavy table with his teeth, much to his wife's horror (she really did have reason for complaint at times!). Joe was leaving great teeth marks in the wooden table top. To prevent this, he fixed a METAL plate to the table only to discover that he was soon actually biting into the metal with no apparent ill effects to his teeth. His chain and nail biting exploits are well documented in the book, most stunts of which were verified over the years by reputable witnesses. The MIGHTY ATOM performed in front of expert strength athletes who could not be fooled by anyone reverting to trickery for over 55 consecutive years. On one particular occasion Joe was challenged to bite through a chain which unbeknown to him had been secretly hardened. Joe nevertheless persevered biting through the treated metal successfully, although at the expense of several cracked molars. Another claimant to be able to bite through metal was the Polish strongman SIEGMUND BREITBART, who advertised a 'MUSCLE BY MAIL' course, sending his free booklet out to the all prospective pupils.
Breitbart was indeed an unusually strong man, performing many fine feats of strength most of which involved lots of showmanship, including bending iron bars, supporting heavy weights, driving nails through wood and steel plates with his fist, and pulling loaded vehicles with his teeth. He could also, like Greenstein, actually BITE through chains.
Regrettably BREITBART sustained an injury whilst performing one of his stunts, contracted blood poisoning from a rusty nail and died soon afterwards. Which is a good place to insert a warning, that in no way do I suggest you attempt any of these feats. I think it utmost stupidity to even consider attempting to bite into any metal or similar hard objects. Your teeth are valuable and must be treated with care.
Actual TEETH LIFTING is O.K. to practise providing you fix yourself up with a leather 'bit' tailored to fit your teeth. Take it real easy to commence, naturally you will soon discover that 'teeth lifting' soon means having a strong neck and a lot of other muscles as well.
For HEALTHY GUMS, AND TOUGH TEETH, I suggest you practice the following:
- Have regular dental checkups.
- Use dental floss (a type of waxed cotton used to remove plaque and clean between the teeth).
- Use a good toothbrush and change it from time to time, i.e. about every 2 months.
- Brush your teeth twice a day, you do not need to over brush your teeth, i.e. brush too often, which can, in fact, do some harm. After meals rinse your mouth with water.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste, which has evidence that it cuts down tooth decay, especially in younger people.
- Try to avoid sticky sugar coated foods, which really do attack your teeth.
- Ensure you have a balanced diet, which indulges protein, and calcium.
- Firm fruits and 'crunchy' vegetables, all help teeth and gums. ...and then KEEP SMILING!
Tough Teeth © Copyright by David Gentle All Rights Reserved