History of Dental Care
September 4th, 2010 by Bill E. Kidd
Thank goodness dental care has evolved since ancient Roman times, when your barber would’ve been the one pulling your diseased teeth. Read on to learn more about this fascinating history.
The History of Dental Care: The First Dental Floss
Evidence has shown that even the ancient caveman cared for his teeth. They can tell this by the grooves on their teeth which are evidence of dental floss or dental picks wearing the enamel.
While we all know and love the waxed floss manufactured by many companies today, the first to do so was Johnson and Johnson. Prior to this, there was nylon thread, and before that, floss was produced with silk.
The First Toothpaste: History of Dental Care
Historians believe that toothpaste was used in China as far back as 500 BC, but it did not reach the rest of the world until the 1800s. The first toothpastes used contained regular soap to help cleanse the teeth. A century later, the unpleasant tasting soap was replaced by emollients and abrasives like baking soda to help scrub teeth clean without evoking a gag reflex.
The Colgate Company was the first manufacturer of modern toothpaste, and is still a leading producer in the field today. In fact, if you visit your local dentist, you’re likely to receive a tube of Colgate toothpaste before leaving the office.
False Teeth in the History of Dental Care
It’s still hard to get a good fitting set of artificial teeth, but at least we’ve progressed. Historians say that the first artificial teeth were carved from animal bones! After that, came wood. Now, we have man-made materials.
The history of dental care perhaps has sordid stories of mystery and intrigue hidden among its musty pages, but since this is a family dentistry blog, we’ll stick to the squeaky clean version. After all, we wouldn’t wish to be threatened with getting our collective mouths washed out with soap (or even soap-based toothpaste!). Remember, brush and floss well and often.
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