How did people clean there teeth before toothbrushes and toothpaste was invented?

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RoMa	there's toothbrushes and toothpaste now?! wow, times really have changed. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Star dust	finger toothbrushes perhaps? interesting question i wonder what people come up with xXx Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mike	I remember my Mum telling me that her & her brother & sisters used to rub SOOT from the back of the Chimney over their teeth using a finger Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

bernie c	My mum who is 82 told me she and the rest of the family cleaned them with a bit of rag and soot have never tried it but they all had good teeth in later years bicarbonate of soda I have always cleaned mine with that and have never had to have them cleaned at the dentists Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

flymetothemoon279	before toothpaste was invented, people used all kinds of dry, rough things to. clean their teeth. They used things like crushed eggshell, Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

smiley face	soot and a stick Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ginnykitty	a rag? Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

?	They would chew on sticks. The bark and roughness of the wood would scrape the gunk off of their teeth and then, when sharp enough, they would use the stick as a toothpick. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Roundthread	Don`t forget, the ancients didn`t have sugar to rot their teeth. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Scotsman	My Dad never brushed his teeth and lost all of them at a very early age. The first toothpaste (or what passed for it) was invented long ago in Egypt, but pastes and powders didn't come into general use until the 1800s. They only added flouride in 1914. Survival training tells you to use a stick (your finger can help a LITTLE). Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

frostbitten	If you chew on the end of a green twig, it goes all bristley. You can then 'brush' your teeth with the end, removing the gunk. Have a drink of mint tea, and bobs yer uncle. Also, they wouldnt have eaten much sugary food like we do now, so decay would have been less of a problem than erosion caused by using teeth as a tool. It possible animal sinew could be used like dental floss, and tiny shards of wood used as toothpicks. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

clarky128	i heard they used salt and a stick Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jaimestar64cross	they used a mixture of salt, pepper, mint leaves and iris flowers to clean teeth ... some also added urine to a mixture of powders, since the ammonia (in urine) is a whitening agent. Also used in the variety of tooth powders were alum,chalk, charcoal or(soot),pulverized brick, Cinnamon, dragon's blood(an herb). Applicators were either sticks, fingertips or pieces of cloth. In the 1900's a mixture of Hydrogen Peroxide and baking soda was pretty much the standard teeth cleanser. (In 1896 Colgate & Co.manufactured toothpaste in a tube container.) Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Darkness Falls	i know in in England and china they used black tea, in Sudan they chewed on this root. that produced a chemical that acted as an antiseptic . Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

fatapf	With branches, and leaves, specially citrus and Chamomile. Then with charcoal chips or newspaper sheets. Yes, they work, try it out. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

welshchick	They didn't, that's why they had a mouthful of teeth that resembled a row of condemned houses! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Amanda SSS	they had wooden teeth once their real ones fell out because they DIDN'T brush their teeth! gross!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Bowllynn	Tree bark Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

CHRIS S	with their finger dipped in salt or soot rubbed on to teeth Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

redsticks34	anything that is abbrasive could be used, that includes coal dust etc. Twigs can also be chewed, as many still do in countries where toothbrushes and toothpaste have not been introduced to Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ollie	with water and their fingers, if they cleaned them at all. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

toshimi	they didnt Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ciaragw	brandy!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

paul t	The first toothbrushes were patented in France in 1882.It was commonplce until the 50 s for people to use soot an salt to clean teeth.prior to the toothbrush inovation either your finger or a rag would be used.Old victorian pictures with no one smiling wereny cause they were a bunch of miseries , was because they had very little teeth past their teens,those that remained resembled chandeleers of varying shades of yellow Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ally	I don't think they did - I think their teeth were probably rotten. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

winterwinds	breadsoda,and in real olden times believe it or not wait for it ===============soot from the chinmey Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Flibble	I've been told with dirt, but I am quite gullible Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Avalon	willow bark Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Kallick	I know in Trinidad they would pick a hibiscus branch, chew on it until the end is frayed and then brush their teeth with the frayed end of the stick. It was later found to be a good practice because hibiscus branches contained some form of flouride in them. I'm sure there might be other similar plants that may have been used for this in other countries as well. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

?	I'm not messing with you but the use there piss . Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Pixie Blue Bell	I believe they used things like chalk and coal. I would imagine it tasted pretty foul, so they probably didn't do it that often. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No