Entitled: "How teeth to draw of ev'ry class" a dentist, sitting in a chair opposite the patient, is experimenting with string as a method of tooth extraction, however, when he pulls on the string the patient follows. Engraving by John Collier, 1773. Historically, dental extractions have been used to treat a variety of illnesses. Before the discovery of antibiotics, chronic tooth infections were often linked to a variety of health problems, and therefore removal of a diseased tooth was a common treatment for various medical conditions. Instruments used for dental extractions date back several centuries. Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government or society itself, into improvement.