Check this out: Not sure if this has been posted before but I always thought Dental meant simply you put it in your mouth. Who’d’ve thought! Titre du document / Document title Robert W. Morgan, DDS : U.S. Army Dental Corps, founder and creator of Dental snuff = Robert W. Morgan, dentiste de l’armée américaine, fondateur et créateur du Dental Snuff, un chewing-gum qui élimine les caries dentaires Auteur(s) / Author(s) CHRISTEN Arden G. (1) ; CHRISTEN Joan A. ; Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s) (1) Department of Oral Biology at the Indiana University School of Dentistry, ETATS-UNIS Résumé / Abstract During his early adulthood, Robert Withers Morgan (1844-1904), a lifelong resident of Lynchburg, Virginia and a Civil War veteran, worked as an apprentice-trained dental practitioner. He did not become a professional dentist until 1881, when he graduated from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. In the late 1870s, Morgan developed the first medicated, therapeutic, anticariogenic chewing gum which he marketed as Dental Chewing Gum. Although he did not reveal the exact preventive ingredient, it appeared to be some form of antiseptic or antacid which he claimed could retard or eliminate dental caries. His advertising motto for this product was: Preserves the Teeth. During the same time frame, Dr. Morgan added the identical preventive ingredients to snuff and chewing tobacco. His product, Dental Snuff, was widely ballyhooed by means of advertising cards which claimed that it would relieve toothache, cure neuralgia and scurvy, prevent decay and preserve and whiten the teeth. This product, also called Dental Sweet Snuff or Dental Scotch Snuff, is still being produced in Tennessee. However, the manufacturer no longer makes claims concerning its therapeutic efficacy. In 1898, Dr. Morgan proposed and authored the first military dental bill ever presented to the U.S. Congress. This action eventually led to the creation of a full-fledged U.S. Army dental service. Because of his efforts, Morgan was chosen as one of the three examiners and supervising dental surgeons to select the prescribed quota of thirty Army dentists. In July 1901, Dr. Morgan was assigned as a dental surgeon in Havana, Cuba. Three years later, he died of an unspecified tropical disease which was contracted during this assignment.
Sounds to me like Dr. Morgan was a ‘snake oil’ salesman.
“preserve and whiten the teeth” LOL
Kinda reminds me of the Camel ads from the 1950s: “What brand of cigarette do YOU smoke, doctor?” with a pic of some grinnin’ sawbones with a Camel hangin’ from his gob…
anyone use scotch snuff orally from time to time ?? i do.
Bruton and checkerberry make great dips IMO.
I pretty much snuff scotches only but once in a great while I will dip some Wild Cherry or Lorillards. Checkerberry would be a good dip because in the nose it smells just like a freshly opened green can of Skoal
“claimed that it would relieve toothache” That’s True Nicotine dulls pain by interacting with certain receptor molecules in the brain.
I remember reading that very article a while back after I bought a can of Dental Mild at a store. There were postings on this a while back but I don’t recall all of it. Last I heard it was still in question as to whether American scotches were ever intended to be snuffed by design. The rare old timers I’ve talked to put it in their mouth and seem stunned that anyone sniffs tobacco up their nose.
I doubt any of those old timers were alive pre 1850 when nasal use was still popular.
True Xander. Its entirely possible that nasal use was forgotten. My Garret can is inscribed with “United States Patent Office Oct. 25, 1870” Just below that is a logo bearing a quasi-masonic emblem and containing the words TRADE MARK 1782. Maybe patent records can reveal if these were originally marketed as nasal snuff, oral snuff, or just unspecified tobacco. Since most American snuffs have oral health warnings on the can, one might safely conclude that at some point in time oral use was recognized as a common method, or at least common enough to illicit a warning or CYA label. But that tells us nothing about the original situation.
Its nasal snuff, used, marketed and regulated as oral tobacco. I’m not sure why this is a hard concept to grasp for some people. Dental, in particlular was originally marketed as a dentrifice, or tooth powder, but like the other scotch snuffs they are simply copies of Garrett. So its still a nasal snuff becuase of the way its made. I’m not sure which brands pre-date the nasal use to oral use transition period, but it really makes no difference since they are all still scotch snuffs and pretty much variations on a theme. Most of the same brand names all had multiple styles at one time like Maccoboys, Toasts, Rappees, etc. The gradual diminishing of nasal use killed those brands off. I’m glad we at least have something left of a once thriving industry, and if it weren’t for the dippers we would even have what we do.
@Xander I went back and re-read some of the old posts and history summaries. (American snuff history would make a great mini-series btw) I see what you mean now. I guess the old saying is true, the only thing new is the history you haven’t learned yet.
I was thinking about it a little more. The irony is that dipping has saved American snuff. France, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy to name a few, all once had very rich snuff traditions. Now they have nothing, except what they import.
Does make a fellow sad doesn’t it? I would love to try some French, spanish, portugalian, Irelandish, or Italyly snuffs. That would be good.
@Xander your knowledge of snuff is enlightening.I’m myself a snuff factory owner but never knew that anyone would have such knowledge of snuff history.I’m humbled.
@Vikas: Thank you for the compliment, but I just have a good memory. Nearly everything I know about snuff I read on this forum or in articles and books linked to from the forum. You’ve already learned to find old posts, and you will discover a wealth of information in them.
I have joined just yesterday and I can’t just get off this site.!! Anyway I’m also a regular snuffer
This site will help you become a seasoned snuff too and not just someone with tobacco in their nose. Again thank you Snuffhouse for helping us all find out more about our hobby. Probably never would have even tried toque without this website to be honest. To think about it wouldn’t be planning on trying more indian snuffs.
You are right bob. Snuff is my passion. I’m in this trade for the last 20 years traveling all over India to promote my snuff. This site is just like a window to the world of snuff