Dental tourism: from marketplace to Bulgaria

Back in the Middle Ages, average life expectancy was only 30. Blood-letting was the most popular surgical procedure, but more often lead to death than healing.
Teeth were ‘cleaned’ either with a cloth (probably the same as the dog slept on), by rinsing with herbal mixtures or wine or by chewing on herbs. Bacteria had free play. When the pain killed you, there was only one way to kill the pain. You would climb upon a stage at the marketplace and someone, usually a barber, would first cut your hair and then extract your tooth, using the same razor.

In the 21st century, dental tourism goes further than the local marketplace. Many British and Irish people travel the digital highway and find the exit to the Dentaprime clinic. Although we can never rule out (after) pain completely, in a vast majority of cases, people really can fully enjoy their holidays at the breathtaking Bulgarian Black Sea Coast whilst having implants inserted, crowns or veneers placed or even…. teeth extracted.

Many of our patients visit the Archaeological Museum in Varna, which keeps more than 100.000 objects, amongst which the largest collection of 13th-14th century gold and silver jewelry in the Balkans. As far as I know, but please correct me when I am wrong, the collection does not include medieval teeth, extracted by a barber from Varna.