Illustration: How a tooth was extracted painted by Kuniyoshi Utagawa
How did stomatologists and denturists extract a tooth and what type of anesthesia did they use in the Edo period?
Stomatologists and denturists in the Edo period pulled out teeth in a wide variety of ways. For instance, 1) grasp a tooth with forceps to pull it out; 2) apply a wooden bar on a tooth and hit it with a wooden hammer to pull out the tooth; or 3) pry and pull it out using a thin iron stick. In the Edo period, there was an anesthetic agent, which was applied to the gum to paralyze it. It is said that tooth extraction without using anesthesia was conducted at lighting speed. A shaky tooth due to hakusa can be extracted easily. But it must have hurt so much if it was a tooth in a good condition. On a flyer for surgical tools in the end of the Edo period were Japanese traditional tooth extraction instruments. In a catalogue published in 1877, they were gone, replaced by the Western-style counterparts.