Don’t forget to floss
The thing that stands out for me about the life of Peter Roose is his strange approach to frontier dentistry. Now, dental procedures of the time were medieval compared to what we have available today, but Roose was took DIY dental methods to a whole different level. His oral hygiene habits, or lack thereof, meant that his teeth became infected one-by-one (“obsolete,” was the way he referred to them). When this happened, he would remove the offending ivory with a hammer and chisel, often taking pieces of the gum with it. There is no mention of his grin in any account I could find; presumably he didn’t smile that often. He died of mouth cancer in 1943, a condition that likely began because of his dental adventures.
He lies today in Port Angeles, at the Sea View Cemetery. His home near Lake Ozette, on the prairie that bears his name, became a national historic site.
About Ken Campbell
New Release
A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
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