Dental care in the old days

efreysson · Oct 16, 2007

Does anyone know how people took care of their teeth before modern toothbrushes and toothpaste? My fantasy writings take place in a more or less medieval-like society, and I'm hoping to somehow justify my characters NOT having horrible, brown teeth. Y'know, beyond just saying "Who wants action heroes with rotting teeth?"

Marlys · Oct 16, 2007

This is a cool site, where the author actually made and tried out dental hygiene recipes from the middle ages and Renaissance. I'm sure Google can help you find others.

DeleyanLee · Oct 16, 2007

***GROSS ALERT***

Caesar noted in his The Gallic Wars that the Gauls had particularly clean, white, strong teeth. It was an amazement to him, as I recall. They rinsed their teeth at least daily with either their own or horse urine from what I understand.

Personally, I'd just ignore that kind of detail and let the reader picture whatever's comfortable for them--unless it's somehow a big story point.

Fern · Oct 16, 2007

There was some kind of tree that they could break off a small piece of and ,with their fingernail, "feather" one end of to use as a sort of brush. My mother talked about doing this as a kid and I'm sure it was an old custom. . .just don't know how far back. There is still one of those trees that she planted a few years before she died. I'll see if I can find out what kind of tree it is. We always just called it the "toothbrush tree".

I remember my grandfather rinsing his mouth out after every meal (vigorously), simply with water. He was born 1884, died at age 88 and what teeth he still had were his own (no false teeth).

I realize you are looking more for Medieval times, but these are things that could easily be believed that far back.

Saanen · Oct 16, 2007

Fern said:
There was some kind of tree that they could break off a small piece of and ,with their fingernail, "feather" one end of to use as a sort of brush.

I don't know if this is the tree you're talking about, but dogwood twigs have been used this way for a long time. In fact, I have a character prefer this to the "new" way of cleaning his teeth with a brush and soda (i.e. baking soda--not sure when it was invented, but my fantasy world has electricity and plumbing, so I figure I have some wiggle room).

Maryn · Oct 16, 2007

Almost any green tree or fibrous plant stem will make you a nice toothbrush. Our kids did it with willow during their grade school's Colonial Days lessons. Brushing with plain water removes the plaque, although people did use baking soda as far back as the period they were studying.

Maryn, who hates her current toothbrush

PastMidnight · Oct 16, 2007

Marlys said:
This is a cool site, where the author actually made and tried out dental hygiene recipes from the middle ages and Renaissance. I'm sure Google can help you find others.

What a great site, Marlys! Thanks for sharing! I'm bookmarking this one.

Sunkissed27f · Oct 16, 2007

I have read about birch bark and cherry........because it's flavorful and pine because it is strong.

I also, have read where, yes they have used urine.....but only AFTER it has set long enough to leech the ammonia (think bleach) out of it. Drinking urine before the ammonia is fully present i.e., fresh, is well sorta pointless.
Chewing mint and clover and drinking certain teas work also.
I love trees!

soma · Oct 16, 2007

Also keep in mind that slightly less dental hygiene was required before the invention of refined sugar.

I do know that anthropological digs have unearthed neolithic "chewing gum" in the form of fossilized birch(?) sap with imprints from human teeth. So that should be fairly safe territory.

Carmy · Oct 16, 2007

Twigs from a hazelnut tree.

Kathie Freeman · Oct 19, 2007

As I understand it, the man who invented the toothbrush was cleaning his teeth with a rag when he came up with the idea. He was a prisoner and didn't have access to a twig or anything like that. Probably a lot of city dwellers of that day had the same problem.

Marlys · Oct 19, 2007

Ooh, I haven't thought about sweet birch twigs since I was a kid in the Adirondacks. We used to chew on them, and I remember hearing that they were used to clean teeth in the old days. A sweet, slightly minty taste.

Gary · Oct 19, 2007

My dad said that when they were kids, they used salt to clean their teeth. This would have been in the 1920's, but because they were poor, not because there was no toothpaste.

JoNightshade · Oct 19, 2007

I've heard somewhere that before modern toothpaste some upper class people used like ground up fish scales?

I could be totally making this up.

Kentuk · Oct 19, 2007

I read somewhere that Tudor nobles had terrible problems with their tooth enamal because of having their teeth bleached.

Evaine · Oct 20, 2007

During the Second World War, when children were evacuated from the big cities to the countryside, some of the people who took those children in were horrified to find that they cleaned their teeth with soot! These were kids from a very poor area of Liverpool.

Meanwhile, back in the Middle Ages, there has been a dig going on at Wharram Percy in Yorkshire for over 20 years now. They found evidence, from buildup of tartar on the teeth, that some people never cleaned their teeth at all.
It was also possible, at least in Wales, for a woman to divorce her husband if he had bad breath!

Shwebb · Oct 20, 2007

I don't know at what point in time barbershops were places where people had their dental needs taken care of--but barbers were not only cutters of hair, but also acted as surgeons and dentists. The barber's pole is a testament to that history, but I don't have a specific source for that. Just my memory.

Here's a website that details dental care in the medieval period:
http://www.geocities.com/mary_m_haselbauer/medievalteeth.html

Dental care in the old days

efreysson

Closer than ever

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

Fern

practical experience, FTW

Saanen

Maryn

I Tried

PastMidnight

Oponionated

Sunkissed27f

soma

Carmy

Kathie Freeman

That Crazy Cat Lady

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

Gary

JoNightshade

has finally arrived

Kentuk

I want to write what I want to write

Evaine

Shwebb

She's the creepy-looking dude