From George Washington to John Greenwood, 20 January 1797
To John Greenwood
Philadelphia 20th Jan. 1797
Sir.
I must again resort to yo⟨u⟩ for assistance. The teeth herewith enclosed have, by degrees, worked loose and, at length, two or three of them have given way altogether. I send them to you to be repaired, if they are susceptible of it; if not, then for the purpose of substituting others. I would thank yo⟨u⟩ for, returning them as soon as possible for although I now make use of anoth⟨er⟩ sett, they are both uneasy in the mouth and bulge my lips out in such a manner as to make them appear considerably swelled.1
You will perceive at the first view, that one cause of these teeth giving way is for want of a proper socket for the root part of them to rest in, as wel⟨l⟩ for the purpose of keeping them firm & in place at bottom, as to preserve them against the effect of the saliva, which softens the part that formerly was covered by the gums and afforded them nourishment. Whether this remedy can be applied to the present sett I know not; for nothing must be done to them which will, in the least degree force the lips out more than now do, as it does this too much already; but if both upper and lower teeth were to incline inwards more, it would shew the shape of the mouth better, & not be the worse in any other respect.2
Send with the teeth, springs about a foot in length, but not cut; and about double that length of a tough gold wire, of the size you see with the teeth, for fastening the springs. Accompany the whol⟨e⟩ with your Account, and the amount shall be immediately sent by Post in a bank note.3 I am Sir Your very Hble Servant
Go: Washington
ALS (photocopy), DLC:GW, ser. 9.
1. For GW’s previous employment of Greenwood to manufacture and repair his ill-fitting dentures, see GW to Greenwood, 16 Feb. 1791, and the source note to that document; see also GW to Greenwood, 1 July 1792, and n.1; and GW to Greenwood, 20 Feb. 1795.
2. In his letters to Greenwood of 25 Jan. 1797 and 12 Dec. 1798, GW again wrote about his ill-fitting dentures and offered suggestions for remedying their “effect of forcing the lip out” (GW to Greenwood, 7 Dec. 1798, n.1, in 3:245–46). The protrusion of GW’s lips is depicted in Gilbert Stuart’s 1796 full-length portrait of GW (see GW to Stuart, 11 April 1796). For an image of that painting, see , 224.
3. Greenwood replied to GW on 23 Jan., but that letter has not been found (see GW to Greenwood, 25 Jan.).
GW’s cash accounts for 13 and 20 Dec. 1798 show payments of $30 on both days to Greenwood “for Services.” On 28 Dec. 1798, Greenwood sent GW two sets of false teeth to which he had made repairs (one included the set “sent … from Philadelphia”). On 6 Jan. 1799, GW sent Greenwood “Bank notes” in the amount of $15 and recorded that the payment was “in full” of his account (Greenwood to GW, 28 Dec. 1798, in 3:289–91; ).