What's the deal with toothbrushes?!

Question: What's the deal with toothbrushes?

Back before brushing your teeth twice a day every day was common, did people ever get to a point where they went "Man my mouth feels nasty. I gotta take care of this."? I'm wondering because I brushed my teeth this morning and I just had that reaction. What about people who went for months or years without brushing their teeth? Did they have a threshold for cleanliness that they had to maintain or was mouth cleanliness just something they never thought about?

Answers from Medieval European culture experts, dentists, and hooligans/trolls all accepted.

Answers:

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Someone on the internet transcribed some medieval dental recipes and tried them out here:

http://gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/tee…

I think oral hygiene has a longer history than you think it does. I think though that if you never brushed your teeth that you wouldn't know how they'd feel when clean. My old dentist told me that cavities are basically caused by two different kinds of bacteria, and that not all civilizations and ethnic groups carried it so the image of people with all their teeth rotting out at twenty isn't all that accurate.

http://www.dentistry.com/daily-dental-care/dental-hygiene/the-toothbrush-an-oral-hygiene-history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_caries

The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.

What's the deal with toothbrushes?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Health Categories