About Item:

This advertisement was published in the Boston Gazette, the local newspaper. It informs the reader that if they have teeth that need to be cleaned, or a missing tooth, Paul Revere can help! Fortunately, since he made house calls, you didn’t have to go to his silversmith shop (which would be loud, hot, and dirty). We believe Revere turned to dentistry briefly in the 1760s and 1770s because the economy in the colonies was bad, therefore fewer people were buying expensive silver and gold items, but everybody needed to have clean teeth!

Read full transcription here

Read modernized transcription here

Glossary Terms:

• Lodgings—Where someone lives
• Surgeon-Dentist—A dentist who would pull teeth and perform other small invasive procedures. Revere made sure to let people know he did NOT do that as part of his dental practice

Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society