This amazing book traces the evolution of dentistry worldwide from the Bronze Age to the present day, showcasing fascinating and terrifying depictions of dental tools and techniques throughout the centuries. Organized chronologically, The Smile Stealers incorporates beautiful and gruesome technical illustrations and paintings from Wellcome Collection's unique archive, covering material from Europe, America, and East Asia, with seven original and captivating thematic essays by medical historian Richard Barnett. A concise guide to the development of the professionalism and science of dentistry, it covers topics such as early dentures (produced by the Etruscans in the 7th century BC); the smile revolution in 18th-century portraiture; and the role of dentistry in forensic science – all in a beautifully illustrated volume. Expanding on the cultivation of the medically macabre begun by its predecessors The Sick Rose and Crucial Interventions, The Smile Stealers is sure to attract admirers of the macabre and the beautiful as it explores the development of dentistry – from the extraction of bad teeth to jaw reconstruction, and from painful procedures to painless interventions and the pursuit of the perfect smile.