It's true – our ancestors didn't take care of their teeth the way that we do today. But that's not to say that they didn't clean their teeth at all – and that's not the only factor to consider when wondering about historical oral health. We've pulled information from a few studies and compiled experts' thoughts below.
As long ago as 3000 B.C., the ancient Egyptians constructed crude toothbrushes from twigs and leaves to clean their teeth. Similarly, other cultures such as the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Indians also cleaned their teeth with twigs.
Often, they would use water and a rough cloth, scrubbing their teeth. Salt and charcoal were often rubbed across the teeth and then rinsed away. However, the most common way of taking care of teeth involved taking a birch twig and fraying the end, making a primitive brush. Dental powders were also used.
Ancient Egyptians used ox hoof powder, burnt eggshells and ashes to keep their mouths clean and breath fresh. Greeks and Romans chose clean their teeth with rougher ingredients, like oyster shells and ground bones. The Chinese tended to use ginseng, salt and herbal mint to keep their pearly whites clean.
We can trace the first ancient toothbrush back to around 3,000 BC, so it looks like folks back then were aware that they needed to keep their teeth clean. In general, though, there was no oral hygiene, but guess what? They didn't need it!
Fibrous Food
The ancient peoples' diet consisted a large part of fibrous foods. Fibrous foods are great for digestion, but also help to keep our teeth healthy and clean. They do this by aiding in flushing away food debris from the surface of the teeth.
A new study published in Scientific Reports has found that early humans have been using primitive dentistry techniques for about 14,000 years. Even cavemen had cavities, and now scientists have discovered that they also took pains – literally – to remove them.
Natural Toothcare. Native Americans cleaned their teeth by using chewsticks and chewing on fresh herbs to cleanse their teeth and gums. Chewsticks were twigs that had two uses: one end was frayed by a rock and used for brushing, while the other end was sharpened and used as a tooth pick.
Prolonged time without brushing your teeth can cause tooth decay and gum disease to become more advanced, which can lead to receding gums and even tooth loss. Additional issues, including a higher risk for the onset of Alzheimer's disease, can be linked to high levels of unchecked bacteria in the mouth.
NOT MUCH WAS understood in Medieval England about cavities or gum disease, but they did care very much about keeping their breath fresh. They didn't know about germs, and they believed that bad smells were infectious on their own, including bad breath.
Victorian Oral Hygiene & Dental Decay
Most people cleaned their teeth using water with twigs or rough cloths as toothbrushes. Some splurged on a “tooth-powder” if they could afford it. Sugar became more widely distributed, thus contributing to an increase in tooth decay during this time period.
Many Vikings used picks to clean the gaps between their teeth, and some historian believes they may have also used fibrous hazel twigs and similar tools as a kind of brush. The Viking skeletons discovered over the decades have usually had relatively strong teeth too.
Our prehistoric ancestors had some of the same natural tooth protection we no longer have with today's modern diets. Another reason animals don't need the same oral care we do is because they have much shorter lives; chances are good their teeth will outlast the body's longevity.
Tooth powders and toothpastes are thought to have been used as long ago as 5000 B.C. in Egypt. They did not appear in Britain until the late 18th century, and were applied using brushes by the rich, while the poor used their fingers.
Researchers have long suspected that early humans wedged sticks into their teeth to clean them, Hardy said. Chimpanzees, which are connected to humans via a common ancestor, use sticks and pieces of grass to clean between their teeth.
Make it to 94 and you done good.
By the time you become an adult, chances are you've been brushing (and hopefully also flossing!) your teeth under your own steam for at least a decade or more. So it may come as a surprise to learn that you might not be doing it correctly!
One week without brushing:
As soon as a week goes by, your teeth' enamel will start to break down. The plaque that hasn't been removed will make it easy for bad breath to grow. A dirty tooth will make it hard to clean. You will have a greater chance of getting cavities if you don't brush your teeth for a week.
The reality is that not brushing your teeth before bed is bad news. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends brushing your beautiful smile twice a day. Skip a session, and you're on your way to encouraging the growth of bacterial buildup in the form of plaque, which can lead to cavities and even gum disease.
Oral diseases are now very common in most Aboriginal communities due to lifestyle factors including diet and barriers to timely dental care, including the cost, availability and cultural competence of services.
In the last decade or so archaeologists have found evidence from cultures across the world that bad teeth were scraped, scoured, even drilled and filled apparently to remove decayed tissue.
156 Total permanent teeth recorded ..
According to a recent study published in Nature Genetics, ancient hunter-gatherer clans had better teeth than we do today. This finding has been linked to changes in human diets over time. "Hunter-gatherers had really good teeth," says Alan Cooper, Ph. D., director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.
Earlier research shows that ancient hunter-gathers had cavities in at most 14% of their teeth, and some had almost no cavities at all. Then, roughly 10,000 years ago, humans learned to farm. Grain and other carbohydrates took over the plate, making the human mouth a haven for bacteria that destroy tooth enamel.
A key precipitating factor for malocclusion relates to the size of our jaws. For healthy development, jaws must be able to provide sufficient room for all of the thirty-two teeth that grow in the mouth. Over time, our teeth have grown crooked because our jaws have grown smaller.