Fantine also sold her hair, which was used to make dolls and bracelets for the wealthy class. Eventually she sells her teeth and then herself.
Teeth were in high demand for making dentures, as it was difficult to find a suitable replacement for the human tooth- aside from the human tooth. A variety of other substances were used and all had their problems, from smell to functionality. George Washington had various dentures made, fashioned of lead, wire, ivory, bone, and human and animal teeth.
Picture and additional information available here: http://bytesdaily.blogspot.com/2013/02/les-mis-and-teeth.html
Wars were great boons in the human tooth trade, and while the Battle of Waterloo is responsible for thousands of harvested teeth and the coined expression "Waterloo Teeth," many regard the American Civil War as "The Great Tooth Bonanza."
Then, in 1837, London denture maker Claudius Ash, driven by his hatred of handling dead men's teeth, perfected porcelain dentures and began to manufacture them commercially. Even so, trade in the real thing continued well into the second half of the century. Supplies increased during the Crimean War of the 1850s and in 1865 the Pall Mall Gazette reported that some London dentists still refused to switch to porcelain. They now had a whole new source: on the other side of the Atlantic the tooth robbers were hard at work, cleaning up behind the armies of the American Civil War.
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/c-eight/france/teeth.htm
What was unusual in 1815, however, was the new item to be found near the top of the astute scavenger's wish-list, together with the new tool taken out onto the battlefield: a sturdy pair of pliers. These unsentimental individuals weren't only on the lookout for the more traditional items, such as money and jewellery, but for a rather more unlikely prize as well...human teeth