The Chinese are credited as having produced the first toothbrushes during the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD). The first toothbrushes were constructed from ivory, bone, or bamboo and hog’s or horse’s hair. Two ivory handles were found in a tomb dating from 959 AD. These handles are approximately the size and shape of the modern toothbrush. There were two columns of four holes each drilled into them for the bristles. The Chinese used mouthwash daily. There were a variety of items used, including saltwater solutions, tea, horse urine, wine, and vinegar. The Romans would burn and grind up animal bones to use in their dentifrices. In India, people cleaned…
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Bibliographies!
One of my favorite things to do when I get a new book for my research is to check the bibliography. Learning what resource materials these researched used help me find additional materials. Many times my secondary source leads me right to a primary one. There have been times when I’ve gotten all the pertinent information on a particular topic, and sometimes I find additional data the researchers omitted. I’ve even been able to find sources for new areas of research. There is a lot of research that has been done on oral hygiene. There are countless primary sources that contain advice on how to keep the mouth clean and…
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Oral Hygiene in the Trotula
The Trotula: A Medieval Compendium of Women’s Medicine, is a twelfth century work on women’s health containing three books. In this work, there are quite a few instructions on how to take care of the teeth. This post discusses two of them. The edition of the book I used is dated 2001 from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Recipe 182 “[182]For black and badly colored teeth, take walnut shells well cleaned of the interior rind, which is green, and we rub the teeth three times a day, and when they have been well rubbed, we wash the mouth with warm wine, and with salt mixed in if desired.” The main…