At Wainright and Wassel, DDS, your trusted Raleigh dentist, we believe that learning about dental history and interesting facts can make dental care more engaging. We’ve compiled this comprehensive collection of fascinating dental trivia, myths, and historical practices that showcase just how far dentistry has come.
Table of Contents
- Historical Dental Practices
- Fascinating Toothpaste History
- Surprising Animal Dental Facts
- Unusual Dental Traditions
- Modern Dental Statistics
- Ancient Dental Remedies
- The Evolution of Dental Care
Historical Dental Practices
Before modern dentistry developed into the comfortable, pain-free experience you enjoy at your Raleigh dentist office, our ancestors tried some rather unusual approaches:
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Archigenus (100 A.D.), a Roman physician, was the first to recognize pulpitis and invent a primitive dental drill to open the pulp chamber.
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The Ancient Greeks were pioneers in dental extraction, being the first to discover and use pliers to remove teeth.
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Before professional dentistry was established, people used various materials to clean their teeth, including ground chalk, charcoal, lemon juice, ashes, and even mixtures of tobacco and honey.
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In the early 1600s, Japanese women blackened their teeth (a practice called ohaguro) to demonstrate loyalty to their husbands. This practice also had the unexpected benefit of preventing tooth decay, as the lacquer sealed and protected the teeth.
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The ancient Chinese had a unique approach to toothaches – they wrapped tiny pieces of parchment containing written prayers and incantations around painful teeth.
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Aztec dentists created early dental fillings by mixing iron filings, water, and navel lint, baking the mixture, and inserting it into cavities.
According to the American Dental Association’s History of Dentistry, modern dentistry as we know it only began to take shape in the 18th century.
Fascinating Toothpaste History
The evolution of toothpaste reveals much about human ingenuity and our constant quest for better oral hygiene:
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The world’s oldest-known formula for toothpaste, used more than 1,500 years before Colgate began marketing in 1873, was discovered on a piece of papyrus in the basement of a Viennese museum.
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The Greek physician Hippocrates (400 BC) suggested a toothpaste made from three mice and the head of a hare to cure toothache. Thankfully, your Raleigh dentist uses much more effective and pleasant methods today!
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Before commercial toothpaste was invented, people used dry, rough materials as abrasives to clean their teeth – including crushed eggshells, pumice, or even the burnt hooves of animals.
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In ancient Rome, the Gauls and other peoples used urine (which contained urea, a whitening agent) as a mouth rinse to whiten their teeth. Modern teeth whitening at your Raleigh dentist office is much more pleasant and effective.
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It was only about 100 years ago that someone finally created a minty cream to clean teeth, which evolved into the toothpaste we know today.
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A study by the Journal of the American Dental Association found that a third of the population squeezes their toothpaste tube from the middle rather than from the bottom.
Surprising Animal Dental Facts
The animal kingdom offers some truly remarkable dental adaptations:
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Horses’ teeth are extremely long and grow continuously. They wear down, change shape, and become discolored as they grow, which is why you can really tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth.
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Rats’ teeth also grow continuously throughout their lives, which is why they gnaw on everything they can find – they’re trying to wear down their teeth and relieve the itching sensation in their gums.
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The whale shark, despite being the biggest shark species at up to 12 meters long, has the smallest teeth – more than 4,000 of them, each only 3mm long.
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Sharks’ teeth are constantly being replaced, with new teeth forming in rows in their jaws. A typical shark replaces its teeth every eight days, and their teeth are literally as hard as steel.
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Cows do not have upper front teeth, and their lower teeth never stop growing throughout their lifetime.
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Aardvark teeth have no enamel coating and are continuously worn away and regrown.
Unusual Dental Traditions
Different cultures have developed fascinating traditions around teeth, particularly regarding children’s baby teeth:
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In parts of England, mothers once burned their children’s baby teeth to prevent evil witches from obtaining them and gaining control over the children.
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Australian mothers were said to crush their children’s baby teeth and eat the powder, believing it transferred the child’s strength back to the mother.
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In some parts of the world, a child’s baby tooth would be placed in nests where rats or snakes were known to live because people believed evil witches disliked those animals and wouldn’t go near them.
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In many cultures, parents placed their children’s teeth in mouse nests, believing this would result in a new tooth growing in the lost tooth’s place, just as they thought a mouse’s lost teeth somehow regrew.
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The modern tooth fairy tradition, where children place lost teeth under their pillows to be exchanged for money or gifts, evolved from these earlier cultural practices.
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China sets aside September 20 as a national holiday known as “Love Your Teeth Day” to promote oral health awareness.
Modern Dental Statistics
These contemporary statistics highlight the importance of regular visits to your Raleigh dentist:
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Over 40-50% of children will be affected by tooth decay before they reach 5 years of age, according to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.
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According to the May 2000 Surgeon General’s report “Oral Health in America,” more than 51 million school hours are lost annually due to dental-related problems.
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The average person spends approximately 38.5 days brushing their teeth over their lifetime.
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According to a poll, 73% of people would rather go grocery shopping than floss their teeth, despite flossing being essential for preventing gum disease.
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While 9 million children in the United States do not have medical insurance, more than twice that number – 23 million – do not have dental insurance.
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Of the 4 million children born each year, more than half will have cavities by the time they reach second grade.
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For 25% of children, the first visit to the emergency department is due to a dental-related problem.
At Wainright and Wassel, DDS, your Raleigh dentist is committed to changing these statistics through preventive care and education. Visit our preventive dentistry page to learn more.
Ancient Dental Remedies
Some historical dental remedies were quite unusual by today’s standards:
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For toothaches, ancient practitioners recommended applying a mixture of figs, saffron, mustard seed, and myrrh plaster to the corresponding shoulder; boiling earthworms in oil and dropping the oil into the ear; or even rubbing the tooth with dried cow dung.
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For tooth decay, some recommended rinsing with a mouthwash made by boiling dogs’ teeth in wine.
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To stabilize loose teeth, some believed tying a frog to the jaw would help.
Important Message from your Raleigh dentist: Please do not try these remedies at home! Modern dentistry offers safe, effective, and comfortable solutions for all dental problems.
The Evolution of Dental Care
The journey from these historical practices to modern dentistry has been remarkable:
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William F. Semple, a dentist from Mount Vernon, Ohio, was issued the first patent for chewing gum in 1869.
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In the 18th century, people would sell their teeth to wealthy individuals, who then used them to make dentures. This early form of tooth replacement predates modern dental implants offered by your Raleigh dentist.
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Before toothbrushes were invented, people used twigs (particularly neem twigs in India, which have natural antibacterial properties) or their fingers to clean their teeth.
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An interesting historical note: the electric chair was invented by a dentist, Alfred P. Southwick, who was inspired by his knowledge of electricity used in dental procedures.
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In the dark ages, superstitions held that a person could cure a toothache or regrow a lost tooth by obtaining a tooth from someone else, preferably from a hanged criminal.
At Wainright and Wassel, DDS, your Raleigh dentist uses the latest dental technology and techniques that are far more comfortable and effective than these historical practices. Learn more about our modern dental services on our website.
Dental care has come a long way from these historical practices. Today, your Raleigh dentist at Wainright and Wassel, DDS offers comfortable, effective, and scientifically-proven treatments in a welcoming environment. We’re committed to continuing the evolution of dental care by staying at the forefront of dental technology and techniques.