What will you do if there was no toothpaste? This is the same question which came to my mind while brushing my teeth this morning, half awake. I tried to figure out some of my options if such a situation ever arises… I may not brush for few days, till people start noticing my bad breath or I have toothache. After this I may have to figure out how to get rid of these problems… I may chew cloromint to avoid bad breath or chew Orbit white. I am thinking of all this from the perspective of a person in 21st century, who does not have access to toothpaste.
Now consider about a person 5000 years ago. What options will he have in such a scenario?
Based on my my findings on the net, it is not possible to point out an exact time when people started using anything for oral hygiene but it is believed that first traces of oral hygiene were found to be dated around 5000 years ago in Egypt, China and India.
India has a long history of Ayurveda. Neem twigs (aka. daatun) were used for brushing teeth in India. This practice is perhaps one of the earliest and most effective forms of dental care and is still prevalent in villages in India. The usage is simple – you chew a one end of the neem twig for sometime, till it become like a toothbrush, and then use it to brush your teeth. The tooth brush seems to have its origins in the daatun.
According to BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2818686) the first bristled toothbrush originates from China at around 3500 BC and was brought back to Europe by traders. It was made from hairs from the neck of the Siberian wild boar, which were fixed to a bamboo or bone handle. In Europe, where very few people brushed their teeth, it was found that wild boar hairs were too stiff and made the gums bleed, so horse hair, which was softer, was used instead. It was still more customary in Europe to used a toothpick after meals, made of a goose feather, silver or copper.
It is really hard to believe what people used in the ancient times to clean their teeth. Ancient tooth powders used abrasives such as crushed bone, burned and crushed egg, snail or oyster shells, which were used to clean debris from teeth. (ref. http://users.forthnet.gr/ath/abyss/dep1342.htm)
During the years 3000/5000BC, Egyptians made toothpaste using a recipe of powdered ashes of hooves of oxen, myrrh, powdered and burned egg shells and pumice. (ref. http://www.sadanet.co.za/dhw/history/toothpaste.html)
Apart from this, I also have come across some very interesting facts on net about what people used in early days.
In 23 – 79 AD the practice of oral hygiene included (reference http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/wisdomtooth/toothpaste.htm):
- Drinking goats milk for sweet breath
- Ashes from burnt mice heads, rabbits heads, wolves heads, ox heels and goats feet were thought to benefit the gums. (This probably wouldn’t go over very well today)
- Picking the bones out of wolves excrement and wearing them (maybe in the form of a necklace?) was considered to be a form of protection against toothaches.
- Washing your teeth with the blood from a tortoise three times a year was a sure bet against toothaches as well.
- Mouthwashes were known to consist of pure white wine, or (get ready for this one) old urine kept especially for this purpose.
Below is a toothpaste history time line:
- 3000-5000 BC Egyptians made a toothpaste like dental cream by mixing powdered ashes of oxen hooves with myrrh, burned egg shells, pumice, and water
- 1000 Persians created a toothpaste by adding burnt shells of snails and oysters to gypsum
- 500 Toothpaste use recorded in India and China
- 1800 AD Modern toothpastes
- 1824 Dr. Peabody adds soap to toothpaste
- 1850 John Harris adds chalk to toothpaste
- 1873 Colgate markets toothpaste in a jar
- 1892 Dr. Washington Sheffield puts toothpaste into a collapsible tube (Dr. Sheffield’s Creme Dentifrice)
- 1896 Colgate Dental Cream packaged in collapsible tubes1939 First electric toothbrush
- 1941 US Army adds tooth brushing to its hygiene procedures
- 1956 Proctor and Gamble adds fluoride to Crest toothpaste
- 1961 General Electric introduces a rechargeable cordless toothbrush
- 1984 First toothpaste pump dispensers
- 1987 The first rotary personal electrical toothbrush for use, the Interplak
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