For these reasons, archaeological evidence has shown that not only the Phoenicians applied this technique, since the Mayan civilization applied the technique of dental inlays when they started using the alveoli of seashells to make dental implants to replace the pieces that had fallen out, but they also took the opportunity to insert precious stones such as jade, quartz or obsidian in the dental pieces that were placed in the teeth.
It is important to point out that these dental inlays were used mostly by the so-called aristocracy of Mayan society in order to demonstrate their social status and power, and they underwent painful procedures for the teeth to be carved, for which bone or hard wood drills impregnated with a natural abrasive were used after having slept the person, using for it some hallucinogen or other plants with analgesic power, so that he did not feel so much pain, which became the typical anaesthesia.
The level of knowledge about teeth was increasing, to the point that the aristocrats had their own dentists, who specialized in the techniques of dental inlays, and placed ornaments with stones and metals that simulated jewels to increase the attractiveness or beauty of the teeth, which today would be seen as something extravagant and inappropriate.
These Mayan dentists used to cut or file some teeth in order to make them look more striking and beautiful according to the concept of beauty that they used at that time, there are even some archaeological evidences, which consist of teeth with small holes where precious stones were apparently located, which gave the smile a radiant beauty, that today would be a very expensive smile.
Various anthropological studies have found that almost all Mayan citizens, regardless of the social class to which they belonged, decorated their teeth with ornaments made with precious stones and gold, using a natural adhesive to fix them.
The result of these procedures used to be practically perfect, which has demonstrated the high level of knowledge they had about dentistry, evidencing a great mastery of technique, pulse and precision, since they avoided the damage of the tooth and the nerve.
Both Phoenicians and Mayans left their legacies in the field of odontology, but it was not until the Middle Ages when they began to become aware of the importance of dental hygiene, thanks to the work of Guy de Chauliac, who developed practices that influenced modern dentistry, as well as Giovanni Da Vigo, who stood out at that time as one of the first doctors who used gold leaves to block cavities.
That is how, for thousands of years, precious stones and metals used in modern jewelery have been fundamental elements for making ornaments used to beautify the human body, including teeth, as we have described throughout this article. Would you dare to have some rubies or diamonds embedded in your teeth, for example? It sounds crazy, right? But the range of possibilities is open, fashion changes and with it people’s lifestyles and preferences.