"According to Mt. Vernon scholar Mary V Thompson, Washington directly paid the slaves for their teeth. This is also stated in the PBS Frontline docu-mentary "Jefferson's Blood". This does not improve my image of Washington."

The receipts showed payment to the dentist. It's theoretically possible he paid the slaves also but why would he?

Jefferson scholar Edwin Betts hid a letter documenting teen boys being beaten in his nailery on Mulberry Row. Betts excluded information that changed the desired narrative. Many scholars are guilty of puff pieces to create heroes. I like receipts myself.

BTW, the illegal importation of slaves, particularly those backed by Liverpool bankers and merchants, continued to flourish in several of those states that theoretically banned the import of slaves. The Liverpool built ships were faster than those of the Royal Navy. The last known major landing in Savannah, GA was The Wanderer in 1858 on St. Simon's Island with over 400 slaves that survived the trip.