The string and the doorknob: profile of a popular approach to dental extraction

Dental technology and delivery of care constantly improve. At the same time, certain folk traditions and attitudes towards dentistry remain curiously constant. Dental extraction using string is an enduring amateur technique, images of which are still widely perpetuated among the laity, in western society. The historical development of extraction as a treatment modality and the rise of dentistry are discussed in relation to the patient's view of dental therapy. Various examples from art and literature are introduced to give depth and perspective to current popular perceptions. Extraction with string is presented as a metaphor for all extractions and as reflective of the public's continuing psychological sensitivity to surgical intervention in the oral cavity.