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Toothache and Trauma: A History of the Toothkey

    The Compound Extractor

    The 17th-century compound extractor had features of the forceps, pelican and elevator all in one, creating a multifunctional device and eliminating the need to transport all three instruments individually.

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    Circa 1620, the Mayflower surgeon’s case is thought to have included a compound extracting instrument illustrated here.

    Public Domain: Dental Cosmos 1891
    This instrument (A56.1) from the Ward Museum collection may be a replica of the one used by the Mayflower surgeon.

    University of the Pacific Permanent Collection, Donor: Maurice J Owens, DDS
    Colonial dentists used similar extractors in the 1700s.

    Courtesy of Abrams/Mosby Publishing, New York, NY — Ring, 1985

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