Abstract
In the summer of 1893, President Grover Cleveland discovered a mass on the roof of
his mouth. Two physicians examined it, determined that it was a neoplasm, and recommended
resection. In an effort to avoid revealing the illness to the public, the President
and his doctors boarded a yacht on July 1 1893, where the surgeons resected the affected
portion of his maxilla and several teeth under an ether anesthetic. Afterward, Kasson
C. Gibson, a New York dentist, created a rubber obturator, which was placed in the
surgical defect in the maxilla and restored the President's facial contour and speech.
Due to the precise reconstruction with the rubber appliance crafted by Gibson, the
President lived the rest of his public life without facial or speech abnormality.
This article will review the details of the work of Kasson Gibson and the President's
maxillary prosthesis.
Keywords
Grover Cleveland - Kasson Gibson - oral surgery - maxillary resection
