How did people ever live without eye glasses and dental care?

surely those are more important luxaries than tv and the internet

How did people ever live without eye glasses and dental care?
It's very interesting you would bring these two things up. Eye glasses have been rated the number one most important invention by many historians. The eyeglasses have been around for more than 700 years. Before they were invented, many people had a very hard time reading due to the fact they couldn't see the elaborate calligraphy of the middle ages very well. Glasses helped to increase the literacy rate throughout the world and are incredibly important to society (this includes contacts). Dental care is also incredibly important. Really good dental care was almost impossible to find until about the early 1900's. More people lost their teeth earlier many times by choice due to all the trouble they created. Imagine the pain of a wisdom tooth needing pulling without painkillers! UHHH! Anyway, very good choice of modern conveniences which are essential to modern life.
Reply:The Ancient Egyptians actually had eye surgery to remove cataracts. We just didn't know what they were for until we discovered how to do it. And as for dental care the Ancient Chinese invented tooth brushes. And T.V. and Internet are just addictions we could live without. (joke)
Reply:Well, they suffered. Many people died at an early age from an tooth infection long before antibiotics ever arrived. That is why the average life span has been getting long and longer. Actually, when it came to bad eyesight, they new bent glass (like a magnifying glass) helped a little. But, when they went blind, game over man. They were totally dependent on family.
Reply:The need for both dental care and eyeglasses is almost entirely a product of civilization. Illiterate societies have almost no nearsightedness. Dental cavities don't occur in societies that don't have highly refined foods such as fine-ground flour. The residual problems with eyes and teeth are primarily due to old age, which didn't happen much before agriculture and civilization made it relatively easy to care for nonproductive people.
Reply:....and bathing, deodorant, washing machines, dental floss, toilet paper, toilets......
Reply:Many people several generations ago were blind if they lived long enough.They had vitamin deficiencies,glaucoma and cataracts,without the benefit of ocular care beside maybe magnifying lenses.Dental care is another,more serious problem many people had.A lot of people died from infected teeth without the benefit of antibiotics.Pulling teeth was their only hope.

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