The Etruscans and ancient Romans were early pioneers in the development of dentures. They crafted early dental prosthetics from various materials, including human and animal teeth. Ancient dentures were designed to replace missing teeth and were likely more for aesthetic purposes than functional ones.

Indeed, the Etruscans, who, as many of you know, occupied a large part of Tuscany and central Italy in pre-Roman and early-Roman times, were known for their contributions to prosthetic dentistry: they created dental bridges using gold rings to hold ox-teeth, as testified by findings from a tomb that contained three artificial teeth bound together with a band of pure gold.