To find out how a 17th-century aristocrat dealt with periodontitis, archaeologists used computed tomography. Fixing her falling teeth with gold wires, a solution that, while innovative at the time, probably made her condition worse.
Anna d'Alegre lived from 1565 to 1619 in northwestern France during the turbulent times of the religious wars, fell into royal disfavor and lost her only son when he went to fight in Hungary. Loss of status in society due to a handicap would be a death sentence for a French socialite with a dubious reputation, married twice and outlived both spouses. The condition of her teeth suggests that the woman lived in constant stress that crippled her health, and at the age of 54, the Dowager Countess died of an illness. After her death, Anna's body was embalmed and buried in a lead coffin, according to a team led by Rosenn Kolleter of the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) in Rennes, leaving her teeth well preserved.
The remains of Anna D'Alegre were discovered in 1987. Kolleter's team used cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to evaluate the motives for fixing loose teeth with gold thread.
CBCT revealed that D'Alegre suffered from acute periodontal disease and tried to prevent its effects by wrapping gold wire around her loose teeth. The treatment involved tightening the wire from time to time and also making adjacent teeth more vulnerable to loosening. It is likely that such treatment, in addition to everything else, was also very painful.
“D'Alegre's lower teeth are often wired around the gums. Some of the teeth are even pierced to allow the wire to pass through. There is also a false tooth made from elephant tusk,” the report notes.
Why did a French aristocrat undergo such treatment? She may have experienced “social pressure to keep her teeth at a time when the perceived value and position of women in high society depended on their appearance,” the study authors wrote.
“In addition to medical treatment, the goal was certainly aesthetic and especially social,” Kolleter said.