French aristocrat's golden dental secret revealed 400 years on - FRANCE 24 English

Embalmed in a lead coffin, her skeleton -- and teeth -- were remarkably well preserved.

Thirty-five years later, a team of archaeologists and dentists have identified that d'Alegre suffered from periodontal disease that was loosening her teeth, according to a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports this week.

Ambroise Pare, a contemporary of D'Alegre's who was the doctor for several French kings and designed similar dental prosthetics, claimed that "if a patient is toothless, his speech becomes depraved", Colleter told AFP.

By the age of 21, she was already widowed once and had a young son, Guy XX de Laval.

D'Alegre's teeth "shows that she went through a lot of stress," Colleter said.

The teeth of 17th century French aristocrat Anne d'Alegre, with a gold wire threading through several© Handout / INRAP/Rozenn Colleter/AFP/File