I recently realized that I hate bone carving. I was not finding joy in it, and therefore it kept getting pushed down on my task list. My research suffered because I was so focused on completing this project. A friend asked why I felt the need to recreate the ancient Chinese toothbrush. I don’t remember what I told her, but upon further reflection, I don’t have a good reason, other than I figured it was the next step in the project. But, I don’t have to MAKE things. I can enjoy the research, which is the part of the A&S community I love the most.
The Plan
With renewed energy, I shifted my focus from bone carving to research. Whew. What a relief. I started looking at archeological publications. What did skeletal remains tell us about their oral hygiene? Their socio-economical status? Their diet? Their age? Were there any pandemics or natural disasters that could have impacted them? And finally, what were the common oral hygiene practices?
Once I have collected all the data, my plan is to compare them to the common hygiene practices of the time and chart out the overall health of the teeth. I am also looking for common ingredients in dentifrices and rinses. I would like to see what, if any, ingredients were used continuously throughout history, and ideally if any of them are still used today.