Iknow it is a question that keeps you inquisitive souls up late at night.

As I cleaned up my kids’ toothbrushes strewn all over the bathroom counter, I had a thought. How did people in the old days brush their teeth?

Being a curious sort of character, I had to find the answer. What I found would make dentists cringe.

This article was way too much fun to write.

My Great Uncle John was a blast to talk with.

I’m not sure how well his soot/baking soda and twig combo worked.

Grandma had LOTS of false teeth.

Chapin resident John Lindler, 83, said that they brushed their teeth with a crushed dogwood twig. He and his 11 siblings would go out and find a 4-6 inch Dogwood twig, peel the bark, and crush it with a hammer on the anvil to make the bristles.

Soot was found on bricks inside the open fireplace and mixed with baking soda for a paste. With the twig bristles, they brushed their teeth.

They rinsed their mouths with well water. These twigs were stored in a jar with water to keep the wood fibers moist and flexible. Crushed tree twigs for clean teeth were basic dental hygiene in the old days!

Peelu tree twigs in the Middle East were the original “chewing stick” for teeth. The outer bark was removed, and the twig was chewed.

The Babylonians, Egyptians and Chinese had chewing sticks from twigs of aromatic trees. In Sudan, the plant, Purple Nutsedge, was used as a tooth cleaner and has been found with antibacterial qualities.

Later on, a cloth was rubbed on the teeth to remove those smelly cavity bugs, with a primitive tooth cleaning powder. Depending on where in the world the powders were made, burned spices, sage, salt and spices were some of the ingredients used.

Crushed ox hooves, burned eggshells, crushed oyster shells, pulverized chalk, brick, bones and charcoal were used in tooth powders.

Chewing cinnamon, mace, cloves, bay leaves and nutmeg was done for sweet, fresh breath. Vinegar and salt rinse was used to make teeth white.

Ancient Egyptians made their own toothpaste from ground mint, rock salt, pepper, and dried Iris flowers.

In Europe, ground charcoal was used to clean pearly whites in the 1800’s.

The 792 teeth found in Khirbet Nisya, an ancient Israelite tomb from 3,200 years ago, showed the 51 individuals had minimal decay. They must have done dental hygiene well.

One would go on down to the local “barber-surgeon” for tooth removal. These barber-surgeons were jacks-of-all-trades. Pulling teeth, minor surgery, leech application, shaving beards, and haircuts were just a few of the services they offered.

Prestipinodentalgroup.com says that barber-dentists filled cavities and used human teeth and cow bone to create false teeth.

The site mentions poor people had better teeth than the rich, due to the amount of sugar in the more wealthy people’s diet.

The Chinese prototype of the modern toothbrush in 1400 was made of bone and bamboo, and bristles from the hair from pigs.

While in an English prison for starting a riot in 1770, William Addis had the same idea. He saved a bone from a meal and put tiny holes in it, then attached pig bristles with glue. Europe had a new way to brush their teeth.

When he got out of prison, he modified his invention with horse hairs, and mass-produced them in his company, Wisdom Toothbrushes. The company is still selling dental supplies in England today.

Colgate introduced crème toothpaste in jars in the 1850s and in the 1890s put this paste in collapsible toothpaste tubes. Toothpaste powder was still the most popular until 1920.

In 1857, H.N. Wadsworth received a patent for our present toothbrush. With the arrival of nylon in the 1930’s, our present-day toothbrush entered the history of the dental hygiene.

One can purchase Peelu chewing sticks on the Internet today. These chewing sticks might be more popular with fussy pre-school children.

We still have lots of dogwood trees around, but I think I’ll stick with the classic combination of toothbrush and toothpaste.

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