From the time humans understood the importance of practicing healthcare routines to prevent diseases and maintain our health and well-being, there were different methods used to do that. From that time on, maintaining oral hygiene has been an important aspect of hygiene practices.
However, some of the practices from the past are weird and unsettling. From using abrasive materials to peculiar rinsing techniques, we have come a long way in the field of practicing oral hygiene for a clean mouth.
Modern dentistry, led by professionals like Wayne dentist has evolved the oral care and treatment plans and left the past methods.
Some Weird Hygiene Practices from History
Miswak
Before toothbrushes were invented and became household tools, many of us used chewing sticks called miswak or siwak to clean our teeth. These were made from twigs of certain trees and frayed at one end to act as a brush.
While the use of miswak originally started in Egypt and India, many parts of the world slowly adopted this practice of cleaning teeth. There are many surprising benefits of this practice like some trees contain antimicrobial properties that help prevent cavities. However, this benefit was only for those using certain types of sticks, and every person may not have access to it.
Crushed Bone Toothpaste
During ancient times in Egypt, they used to make toothpaste with ingredients like crushed ox hooves, eggshells, and oyster shells. This toothpaste did help in removing plaque because of its abrasiveness, but also damaged the enamel.
In the Roman Empire, they used to make toothpaste with ashes, bones, and charcoal powder, and the same problem of enamel erosion was faced because of the gritty texture. Though it did clean the teeth, over time it wears down the enamel, causing teeth sensitivity.
Honey and Burned Bread For Cleaning Teeth
Oral hygiene and innovation to carry these practices out were more advanced in medieval Europe. They started using a burned bread and honey mixture to clean the teeth, which hurt the teeth more than it helped because the roughness of the bread used to wear down the enamel, and the sugar content in honey promoted tooth decay.
Using Animal Hair Toothbrushes
To properly brush their teeth, during the Tang dynasty in China, they made toothbrushes using stiff animal hairs, like pigs, and attached them to bamboo or bone handles to use them. This gives way to innovation, yes, but they significantly cause problems because of their harsh bristles, causing damage to the gums and making them more prone to bacteria damage.
Use of Salt And Tobacco
People in the 18th and 19th centuries used a mixture of tobacco and salt to clean their teeth; salt in the mixture acted as an abrasive, and tobacco provided an antiseptic element to the teeth. Tough, this seems like a good practice in the paper it causes gum irritation and staining after some time of using it consistently.
Even after being aware of the problem due to this practice, the use of this mixture continued until a more refined product came into the picture.
Oil Pulling
Though this is an ancient Ayurveda practice, there are people still using this method to clean out toxins from their mouths. In this method, you swish a spoon of oil around your mouth to clear out toxins and provide you with better oral health, there was some debate about its effectiveness in maintaining oral hygiene.
Even if it might seem to be not as effective as other modern treatments nowadays, coconut oil pulling does help in aiding to ease swollen gums and giving you better oral health.
Use of Sage and Mint
For achieving fresh breath and mild cleaning, some ancient practices used a relatively harmless approach of using sage leaves and mint. By chewing these herbs or rubbing them against their teeth they used to clean their teeth. Even if this practice was not that effective, it was at least not causing any harm to the teeth and gums.
