'Be true to your teeth and they won't be false to you': Teeth, dentures, and everyday health in mid-twentieth century Britain

This thesis explores the role and place of teeth and dentures in the everyday experiences of health of British people in mid-twentieth century Britain - a period in which denture-use was high amongst the population and everyday interactions with dental health were changing. Using the category of dental agents, a term which unites the experiences of patients, non-patients, consumers, and denture users, I argue that everyday dental health routines were shaped by the cultural, social, and emotional meanings associated with the mouth and the teeth. Such meanings were defined not only by the dental profession, but also by the state, the media, contemporary culture, beauty standards, and commercial interests. These various actors influenced the health choices made by dental agents in this period, as well as how they negotiated their dental care and teeth.

Mid-twentieth century Britain marked a time in which toothcare, and denture maintenance were increasingly framed as an individual responsibility, taken care of in the home and away from the dental clinic. Earlier in the twentieth-century, poor dental health invoked extensive public health campaigning from the British state, offering paternalistic messaging about how individuals could improve their dental health through a good diet, good hygiene, and regular visits to the dentist - the latter of which were not affordable, nor wanted, by all. Although the arrival of the National Health Service in 1948 offered more accessible dental care for the British population, successive charges for treatment meant, for many, access to professional dental treatment remained a luxury. Teamed with the burgeoning consumer health market from the 1950s, tooth and denture care was increasingly framed by the state, society, and dental health companies, as the personal responsibility of the British people.

Due to this emphasis on individual care, within my thesis, I centre the experience of the dental agents during this period. Through different case studies, this thesis explores the emotional dimensions of teeth and dentures, as well as how consumerism, beauty standards, popular culture, and public health messaging influenced individuals' perceptions of their own teeth, dentures, and mouths. Going beyond professional histories of dentistry, I aim to deepen understandings of how teeth and dental prostheses were conceptualised within British culture and society, outside of the medical sphere and as part of everyday health. Using toothcare and dentures as a lens, this thesis ultimately demonstrates how people negotiated and managed their everyday health in Britain, as well as the various emotional, social, and cultural meanings derived from these types of practices.