How ancient Chinese people cleaned their teeth

China has had a good habit of cleaning teeth for a long time, the Jin Dynasty had toothbrushes made of willow branches, and toothbrushes made of pig bristles were found in tombs in the Tang Dynasty, but willow branches were generally used at that time; In the Song Dynasty, toothbrushes were already very common, "Tokyo Menghualu" recorded that there were many shops in Kaifeng City that made and sold toothbrushes, and the "toothpaste" at that time may be Chinese medicine juice, and the toothbrushes made of ivory were excavated in the tombs of the Yuan Dynasty.

1 Before the invention of toothbrushing tools, the ancients generally used the gargling method, using salt water, strong tea, vinegar, wine, etc. as mouthwashes.

Salt water, vinegar and wine have the effect of sterilization and disinfection, and tea contains fluoride and vitamins, which can prevent moths and keep the mouth clean and hygienic.

2. Strip of cloth is actually an evolved version of finger rubbing, which is to use small strips of cloth wrapped around the fingers to scrub the teeth. This small strip of cloth also has a special name - tooth towel. Lin Daiyu in "Dream of Red Mansions" uses a tooth towel to wipe her teeth.

3. The earliest dental sanitary ware in China is willow branches. First of all, soak the willow branches in water, and bite them open with your teeth when brushing your teeth, and the fibers inside the willow branches will come out, like tiny wooden comb teeth.

They will bite open the willow branch with their teeth, and the willow fiber inside will overflow, and chewing this willow branch can play a role in protecting the teeth; They will dip their index and middle fingers in one hand and apply some medicine to their teeth, and then use a toothbrush to clean them.

In ancient times, people had the habit of gargling their mouths, and would use salt water, strong tea, vinegar, and wine as mouthwashes, which could play a role in disinfection and sterilization.

There are toothbrushes. According to American records, in 1498, when a new century was about to appear on the horizon of mankind, the emperor of China invented the toothbrush.

A check of the epoch table, 1498 is under the rule of Ming Xiaozong, that is, it was Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty who invented the toothbrush. The toothbrush was made of bristles embedded in the bones.

Chinese have understood the importance of protecting their teeth more than 2,000 years ago. In the "Historical Records: The Biography of Canggong", it is approved that the cause of tooth decay is "eating without gargling". In the Book of Rites:

The first crowing of the chicken, the salty cough" shows that people have the habit of gargling. The ancients cleaned the mouth and teeth with fingers and willow branches.

In the Dunhuang mural "The Holy Picture of Laodu Fork Head", a monk is depicted squatting on the ground, holding a mouthwash bottle in his left hand and rubbing his front teeth with the middle finger of his right hand. In the Yuan Dynasty, the word "toothbrush" was officially used, and the tooth brushing powder developed from Chinese herbal medicine was used.

The picture shows an ancient toothbrush

Our ancestors have long mastered many measures of mouth protection. In the "Book of Rites", "the first crowing of the chicken, salty gargle" is recorded, which proves that the Chinese people knew 2,000 years ago to wash their faces and rinse their mouths in the morning. Brushing is a method of teeth cleaning that has developed on the basis of gargling.

Relevant scholars believe that China is the first country to use toothbrushes. Because the bone toothbrush handle was found in the Liao tomb, it is the earliest toothbrush in the world that has been discovered so far, more than 1,000 years ago. However, the murals in the Dunhuang Grottoes show that the ancients used the middle finger of their right hand as a "toothbrush".

In the Ming Dynasty, some people even advocated wiping teeth with both left and right hands. It can be seen that the use of toothbrushes was not widespread at that time.

The Sutra Variation paintings of the Mogao Grottoes, such as the Tang Dynasty's "Lao Du Cha Dou Sutra Changes", depict the scenes of bathing, shaving, and rubbing teeth when the "outer way" finally converted to Buddhism. Rubbing your teeth is brushing your teeth. The ancients brushed their teeth exactly like the one in the painting:

Use the index and middle fingers of one hand to dip some medicine into the teeth, and then use a toothbrush to brush them.

Indians used to brush their teeth with poplar branches, so poplar branches are also called "wooden teeth". Not only that, but given the importance of dental health in terms of overall health, Indians also give poplar branches as a way of saying "I wish you good health". Later, this method was introduced to our country, and our people gradually learned this way of brushing their teeth.

The ancient medical book "The Secret of Outer Taiwan" says that using a poplar branch to bite one end softly, dipping it in medicine and rubbing the teeth, can make the teeth "fragrant and clean". In the past, it was said to be one of the essential daily necessities of monks. At the beginning of the morning and at the end of the meal, the monks chew the tooth wood into thin strips to remove the residue between the teeth.

It has both the functions of a toothbrush and a toothpick. After cleaning your teeth, you can go to prayer. The Buddhist scripture "Huayan Sutra" even summarizes the ten benefits of chewing poplar branches.

They are:1food and lodging; 2.

Removal of phlegm diseases; 3.detoxification; 4.tartar remover; 5.

Chewing incense; 6.Noh name; 7.moistens the throat; 8.

No wrinkles in the lips; 9.gain sound gas; 10.The taste is not refreshing.

Of course, although poplar branches are commonly used for teeth cleaning, tooth wood is not limited to poplar branches. People can find suitable dental cleaning materials according to local conditions. Acacia branches, peach branches, kudzu vines, etc. all have the same bitter, astringent, pungent, and spicy flavor as poplar branches, so they can also become tooth trees.

In the era when there was no toothpaste, not only could you find materials for cleaning your teeth, but also used the method of "chewing" to clean your teeth, which seemed to be more convenient and practical than "brushing". So, what is the effect of chewing young twigs to clean your teeth? Both ancient and modern believe that it is indeed effective.

Li Shizhen also said that using young willow branches "to cut into tooth branches, it is very wonderful to clean teeth".

Do you think that the toothbrush came about, someone could invent it from the beginning, and said that it had not been moved before** and was not contacted? In the past, there was no laundry detergent soap, is there no need to wash clothes, contemporary civilization is inherited from the predecessors, so the predecessors must have their own methods, use a rag.

How did the ancients clean their teeth without a toothbrush? Let's listen to the doctor's explanation together, and increase my knowledge.

Nowadays, with the development of social technology, people have many tools for daily cleaning, such as cleaning teethWe've got toothbrushes, more advanced, electric toothbrushes, and we've got toothpaste, and now we've developed tooth powder and mouthwash. In ancient China, when science and technology were not so developed, people also had to clean their teeth, and the ancients had their own methods.

The first is the issue of dietIn ancient times, there were not so many foods with a lot of sugar, so the damage to teeth was less than in modern timesMoreover, some people will rinse their mouths after meals, which also greatly reduces the damage to their teeth. At the earliest time in the Warring States Period, people already had the habit of rinsing their mouths after eatingIn the Northern and Southern Dynasties, we can find records similar to cleaning teeth in the "Class Garden", including the recipe for toothpaste.

In the Tang Dynasty, Sun Simiao, the king of medicine, once said, "Every Dan with a twist of salt in the mouth, with warm water", you can "speak firmly".So in the Tang Dynasty, people used salt to clean their teeth. In the Song Dynasty, delicate people would add some other things to the salt and mix it to clean their teeth, but of course the effect was not very good.

By the Ming Dynasty, he was no longer satisfied with garglingAt first, they rubbed their teeth with salt with their fingers, and then gradually evolved to clean their teeth by using willow branches, dipped in salt, and chewing in their mouthsAlthough the effect is not so good, it is already a very clean practice for ancient times.

We live in the modern era of rapid development of science and technology, technology has brought many conveniences to our lives, and teeth are an essential part of our lives, soWe must take good care of our teeth

From the history books, we can see that the ancient people did not have toothpaste, they used salt water to rinse their mouths and clean their teeth.

In those days when there was no toothpaste, the ancients rinsed their mouths with toothbrushing water and some mint leaves.

The ancients used to rinse their teeth to clean their teeth, and they rinsed their mouths many times after meals.

They should have something special to clean their teeth, like maybe herbs or something.

Ancient people would rinse their mouths after eating, and they would also use wicker dipping salt in them to clean their teeth.

The ancients used willow branches to brush their teeth, and poor families basically did not have anything like toothpaste.

In ancient times, when there was a condition, I used salt to clean, and brushed my teeth with wicker dipped in salt, of course, when I didn't have money to eat, I still didn't want to brush my teeth.

In modern times, brushing your teeth and washing your face every day is a must-do thing every morning, and if you don't brush your teeth one day, you will feel very uncomfortable. But the toothbrush was not invented in ancient times, how did you keep your breath clean and fresh? Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancientsBecause in ancient times, you can use tea, vinegar, salt water and other items to rinse your mouth, you can also use some cleaning powder to clean, and you can also use poplar branches to remove tartar.

1. There are tea, salt water, vinegar and other items to rinse the mouthThe ancients would use tea to rinse their mouths, and in "Dream of Red Mansions", we can see that after the ladies finished eating, the maids served tea to the ladies for gargling. So the ancients would rinse their mouths with tea very early. It is assumed that people will use salt water, vinegar sauce, tea or light salt water for cleaning and sterilization.

At the same time, people think that tea can remove the oiliness of food, and at the same time, it can make people's teeth stronger. There is also evidence that tea contains beneficial substances that can clean the mouth and prevent tooth decay.

2. You can use medicinal powder When the tooth cleaning powder was in the ancient Northern and Southern Dynasties, the ancients had already invented a medicinal powder to clean teeth. This is a kind of medicinal powder made by grinding a variety of medicinal herbs, such as soaphorn, lotus leaves, and green salt. This powder has the functions of cleaning teeth, eliminating tartar, sterilizing and anti-inflammatory, and whitening.

But when this medicinal powder arrived in the Tang Dynasty, it was improved, and people would grind gastrodia, agarwood and other medicinal materials into powder to clean their teeth. In the Song Dynasty, medicinal materials that can clear heat and detoxify were added to it, so in addition to cleaning, tooth cleaning powder also has the effect of **.

3. There are two tools for brushing teeth with poplar sticks instead of toothbrushes, one is to use your fingers to dip your fingers in the powder to rub your teeth to clean them; The other is to use poplar branches, such as peach branches, willow branches, locust trees and other plant branches instead of toothbrushes, and dip some medicinal powder to brush your teeth. It is also recorded in Buddhist scriptures that monks at that time relied on chewing poplar sticks every day to clean their teeth. Including Li Shizhen also strongly recommended this practice, and later this method has been passed on to the people.

Therefore, poplar branches have become a toothbrush that people often use.

In ancient times, people paid a lot of attention to grooming. In the early days, people used liquids such as tea or salt water to clean their teeth and mouth, and later people used their fingers or poplar sticks instead of toothbrushes to clean their teeth by constantly improving the powders used to clean their teeth. Ancient people were very wise and knew that daily hygiene was very important for people's health.

And use all the tools to clean the teeth hygiene and **.

Ancient people basically didn't brush their teeth, but they also found some ways to clean their mouths, they would rinse their mouths with tea or salt water. Ancient emperors would wash the dragon ditch in the morning, in fact, washing the dragon ditch is to rinse the mouth.

Ancient people did not have toothbrushes, and in the daily life of ancient people, they generally rinsed their mouths with water, so their teeth were not clean.

When ancient people did not have toothbrushes, they mainly used simple tools made of cotton to clean the mouth, which is actually the earliest kind of toothbrush.

In the Western Jin Dynasty, there was a record of toothpicks, and Lu Yun wrote to his brother Lu Jishu: "One day Cao Gong utensils, there are toothpicks, and now I send one to my brother." Flossing your teeth after eating reduces the probability of suffering from dental calculus and can protect your teeth.

Soak the willow branches in water first, you can soak the branches and buds softly, and when you need to clean your teeth, bite the willow branches open, and the willow fibers inside will bloom, which is very similar to the current toothbrush, which can be said to be the prototype of the ancient toothbrush.

Zhang Jingyue, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, pointed out very clearly in the "Jingyue Quanshu": "Every time you rinse after a meal, your teeth will be old and white." "Emphasise rinsing your mouth immediately after each meal to keep your teeth clean and your breath clear.

The murals of the Middle and Tang dynasties, Cave 158 of Mogao Grottoes, are about such a scene of monks rubbing their teeth, taking their index fingers back and forth in their mouths, and a small novice waiting quietly next to them. With your own fingers, it is green and pollution-free!

Children are filial to their parents, and every morning when they hear a rooster crow, they should wash their faces, rinse their mouths, comb their hair, wrap their headscarves, put their hair in a bun, tie their headbands, and get dressed. In ancient times, before the invention of toothpaste and toothbrushes, Chinese used twigs, salt, medicine and other tools to clean teeth, hoping to achieve cleaning, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, and bring a slight fragrance effect. Before the advent of toothpaste, Westerners invented tooth powder.

Because of the excessive intake of sugar, coffee, chocolate and other substances in the aristocratic class, people also had a concept of tooth cleaning at the beginning, for example, it was recorded in the "Book of Rites" that the ancients would use "salt" to clean their teeth at the beginning, such as rinsing their mouths with salt water, or dipping their fingers in salt and rubbing it against the surface of their teeth.

The toothbrushes of the Song Dynasty were very close to the current ones, and the bristles were inserted into the bones of the cow and brushed with salt. They don't have toothbrushes. They use willow branches instead of toothbrushes, and clean their teeth by dipping them in detergents made of honeysuckle, wild chrysanthemum, dandelion, huo xiang, peilan, etc., and can also prevent tooth decay.