Washington was not able to travel to New York where John Greenwood had his office because of his responsibilities as a general and then as President.  Instead, he had to send his teeth through the mail to be repaired or adjusted.  Sometimes he fixed his own dentures.  He wrote letters to John Greenwood describing his problem and asking for the right tools to fix them.  He requested files to adjust his teeth, scrapers to clean them, and pincers to fasten the wires.  Once he even asked for material to make an impression of his mouth for new dentures.

By the time Washington was inaugurated as the first President in 1789, he had only one natural tooth left in his mouth.  He wore dentures made by John Greenwood during his presidency.  He was elected to a second term as President, but delivered a very short two paragraph inaugural address, probably because his mouth was bothering him, (continued.)