Buying a tube of toothpaste today can be a trying experience, considering the number of brands and varieties to choose from. But in the old days, our forefathers didn’t have that luxury and used whatever they had to keep their teeth clean.
Before the advent of toothpastes, people had strange ideas on how to care for their teeth. From 23 to 79 A.D. for instance, popular practices included drinking goat’s milk to sweeten breath, using ashes from burnt mice heads, rabbits’ heads, wolves’ heads, ox heels and goat’s feet to keep the gums healthy, and washing teeth with tortoise blood three times a year to prevent toothaches!
In 5000 B.C., the Egyptians used tooth powder made of the powdered ashes of ox hooves, myrrh, powdered and burnt egg shells and pumice. Presumably, the powder was rubbed unto the teeth with the fingers since the chewing stick (the forerunner of the toothbrush) was not used at that time.
The Greeks and Romans improved on this formula by adding crushed bones and oyster shells to better clean teeth. To freshen breath, powdered charcoal, powdered bark and a number of unspecified ingredients were likewise added by the Romans to their powdered toothpaste.
Did you know that urine was a popular toothpaste ingredient in those days? The Romans thought that urine whitened teeth and made them strong so it was part of our forefathers’ dental hygiene.
The practice of incorporating urine into toothpaste and mouthwash persisted until the 18th century. Today, we know that urine contains ammonia that actually cleans teeth which explains why this ancient practice worked.
“Few records related to toothpaste or powder then exist, until around 1000 A.D. when the Persians wrote to advise their people to be wary of the dangers of using hard abrasives as toothpowders. It was recommended that people used burnt hartshorn, the burnt shells of snails and burnt gypsum. Other Persian recipes involved dried animal parts, herbs, honey and minerals. One recipe to strengthen teeth includes green lead, verdigris, incense, honey and powdered flintstone,” according to the BBC.
In the 18th century, British doctors, dentists and chemists used abrasive substances in their tooth powders to whiten teeth. These included brick dust, crushed china, earthenware, salt and cuttlefish.
Believe it or not, sugar was another common ingredient. Another American and British toothpaste recipe consisted of burnt bread, dragon’s blood, alum and cinnamon.
“Glycerine was added early in the 19th century to make the powders into a paste and more palatable. Strontium was introduced at this time as well, which serves to strengthen teeth and reduce sensitivity. A dentist called Peabody became the first person to add soap to tooth powder in 1824 and chalk was added in the 1850s by John Harris,” said the BBC.(Next: Strange toothpaste ingredients.)
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