School tours and trivia nights both loved the wooden dentures: rough-hewn American grit in the mouth of the first president. Washington did lose almost all his teeth and wore painful false ones for years. None of them were wood. Surviving sets used ivory, human and animal teeth, and metal hardware; wine stains likely made the ivory look grainy enough for later storytellers to invent the lumber version.
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What you were taught
George Washington had wooden teeth
What we know now
George Washington never wore wooden dentures. Surviving sets used materials such as hippopotamus ivory, human teeth, and metal fasteners (including brass and gold)—not wood. Staining and browning from wear and poor cleaning could make ivory look woody, which is the most likely origin of the myth. By his 1789 inauguration he had only one remaining natural tooth; dentist John Greenwood built a special ivory, brass, and gold set for the occasion.
Was "George Washington had wooden teeth" taught in school?
Yes — and not as a joke question on a quiz. This history claim showed up in textbooks, worksheets, and classroom posters through the 2010s, which is why so many people still remember it as settled fact long after the science moved on.
Is "George Washington had wooden teeth" true?
No. George Washington never wore wooden dentures. Surviving sets used materials such as hippopotamus ivory, human teeth, and metal fasteners (including brass and gold)—not wood. Staining and browning from wear and poor cleaning could make ivory look woody, which is the most likely origin of the myth. By his 1789 inauguration he had only one remaining natural tooth; dentist John Greenwood built a special ivory, brass, and gold set for the occasion. If you want the primary citation, start with HISTORY - Did George Washington Have Wooden Teeth?
When was this understanding updated?
The evidence had largely shifted by around 2014. Schools don't flip overnight, though — plenty of classrooms kept teaching the older version for years after researchers had already moved on.