Originally published at: 18th century sculpture depicts how people used to believe "tooth worms" caused cavities | Boing Boing
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Fitting that it was made out of a tooth.
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That’s horrifying. I’m creeped out by the idea of a tooth worm even knowing that they’re not real.
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Here’s what 20 century people thought: Crest Gel Toothpaste Cavity Creeps Commercial - YouTube
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“Do like all smart motorists, and choose CRELM toothpaste!”
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Instead of tooth worms it turns out it’s much smaller organisms eating away at things. So at least this was in the right ball park, instead of blaming it on some imbalance or miasma.
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I take exceptionally good care of my teeth, but unfortunately I have a heavy bite, and as such, the cusps on my lower, back, bottom molars are prone to calving like ice floes in a global climate change environment.
Once the microfracture starts the pain begins. The constant dull ache eventually becomes a sharp pain when any pressure is applied, even eating a soft food like yogurt. The pain lasts for several months until the calving occurs, when it becomes excruciating and I rush to my dentist to either get a root canal, crown, or implant.
Three of my four have gone this route, and the fourth began this process 18 months ago, and I can’t wait for the pain to finally go away when the tooth fails in some fashion.
If only I had tooth worms, maybe I’d be able to apply some insecticide.
Just a scaling problem, really 
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They weren’t exactly wrong about tooth worms: Plaque attack: Close up images of teeth reveal what lives in your mouth
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