An accidental discovery

Phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, commonly called 'phossy jaw', was a really horrible disease and overwhelmingly a disease of the poor. Workers in match factories developed unbearable abscesses in their mouths, leading to facial disfigurement and sometimes fatal brain damage.

This oral disease came about in the 1860s because matchstick factory workers were exposed to dangerous levels of phosphorous — a chemical used for creating matchsticks. Inhaling the phosphorous fumes resulted in a rise in gum disease, bone deterioration and bone cell death that was termed phossy jaw.