CAPTION: An iron tooth implant fitted 2,300 years ago could be earliest false tooth ever found in Western Europe, according to dailymail.co.uk. The dental implant is shown here second from the right.

It’s never too late for a beautiful smile. A discovery in France is proof positive.

Scientists believe a metal pin- possibly the first dental implant – was used to improve the appearance of a twentysomething woman, postmortem, during the Iron Age.

For her sake, let’s hope so. An iron implant in a live person would have caused extreme pain.

Back then, 2,300 years ago, people believed that a person’s corpse should still look good and his or her status was related to the way he or she appeared—even after death.

According to DentistryToday.com and dailymail.co.uk, based on the early information, researchers think this implant precedes the implant that was previously thought to be the oldest by about 400 years. That tooth was found in France, as well, during the 1990s.