Brushing our teeth is something we do – hopefully – at least twice every day without even questioning it. Mindlessly squeezing a fluoride paste onto plastic bristles, we rub our teeth and rinse it out.
Foul breath has always been a human concern, but what is involved in the maintenance and understanding of healthy teeth has come a long way.
According to Alberto Angela, who wrote the book, A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome, some tooth practices have been consistent over time.
“The Romans take good care of their teeth,” he writes. “At table they use toothpicks…[which]…are often made of silver and are the size of dinner forks,” (Angela, 2009)
Angela even says that the Romans used forms of toothpaste that included baking soda! However, these same people were also known to clean their teeth with urine… (Angela, 2009).
In the book, The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century, Ian Mortimer describes Medieval dental care as focused on breath, not teeth.
Chewing on cardamom, licorice, fennel, or other spices were ways to eliminate foul breath.
Interestingly, “the increasing availability of sugars [meant] that dental caries [was] actually worse in the fourteenth century than it was in Anglo-Saxon times,” (Mortimer, 2008). However, methods of preventing rot were less than effective.
Mortimer writes that cavities were believed to be caused by small worms which could be gotten rid of by burning a candle “as close as possible” to the offending tooth. Needless to say, a lot of individuals were missing multiple teeth, (Mortimer, 2008).
By the 16th century, striking improvements in dental care had taken place. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England, also by Mortimer, says that sugar was now known to be the main cause of tooth rot.
In addition to chewing on spices for improved breath, Elizabethans picked their teeth frequently, used mouthwash, and rubbed their teeth with a “tooth cloth,” a.k.a. wet linen, (Mortimer, 2014).
Lydia Child, in her early 19th century book, The American Frugal Housewife, mentions the benefits of brushing your teeth. Her methods are much more recognizable to modern readers, but still different from a standard 21st century routine.
Child’s first suggestion is not that odd: “Clean teeth in pure water two or three times a day; but, above all, be sure to have them clean before you go to bed,” (Child, pg. 88).
The second is definitely unusual: “Honey mixed with pure pulverized charcoal is said to be excellent to cleanse the teeth, and make them white. Lime-water with a little Peruvian bark is very good to be occasionally used by those who have defective teeth, or an offensive breath,” (Child, pg. 114).
For a week, I tried brushing my teeth solely with “pure water,” a.k.a. tap water. And for the most part, I didn’t even miss toothpaste. (Though maybe you should ask my family, lol).
The morning was the only time when sometimes the water didn’t seem to fully erase the unpleasant taste in my mouth. However, my teeth never felt gross, because just the act of rubbing them removes a lot of buildup – thank you, Elizabethans.
Alberto Angela. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome. New York, NY: Europa Editions, 2009.
Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Visitor’s Guide to the Fourteenth Century. New York, NY: Touchstone, 2008.
Mortimer, Ian. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2014.